Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,496,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 56,938 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Southern worth $229,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its position in Southern by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $922,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.93.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $91.91. 3,235,666 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,677,265. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.99. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $77.71 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. 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.