Edgestream Partners L.P. Purchases 95,462 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its Southern Company stake by 1,790.4% in the first quarter, purchasing 95,462 additional shares for a total holding of 100,794 shares valued at approximately $9.7 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $100.21. Southern recently reported first-quarter earnings and revenue above estimates, with EPS of $1.32 and revenue of $8.40 billion.
• Southern announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, equivalent to $3.04 annually and a 3.2% yield; shares opened at $96.24, near their 12-month high of $100.83.

Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 1,790.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,794 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 95,462 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in Southern were worth $9,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $79.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $100.21.

Southern Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE SO opened at $96.24 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.94. The stock has a market cap of $108.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

Southern Profile

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern's principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.

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