Callan Capital LLC Buys New Shares in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Callan Capital LLC bought a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,301 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $304,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $848,019,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Southern by 325.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,322,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $355,864,000 after buying an additional 3,307,527 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Southern by 11,230.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,954,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $179,690,000 after buying an additional 1,936,965 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Southern by 562.9% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,368,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $112,679,000 after buying an additional 1,162,288 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Southern by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $428,794,000 after buying an additional 979,756 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.93.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $91.31 on Wednesday. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $77.71 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.99. The company has a market capitalization of $100.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.64%.

Southern Company Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.

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