Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 48,279 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 16.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 339,506 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 48,279 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Southern were worth $31,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Investors Research Corp boosted its stake in Southern by 400.0% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Elequin Capital LP grew its holdings in Southern by 60.6% during the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth $49,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock traded up $0.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $90.78. The stock had a trading volume of 5,228,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,627,900. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $76.96 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The firm has a market cap of $99.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.38. The business's 50-day moving average is $89.71 and its 200 day moving average is $87.48.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. KeyCorp cut Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.93.

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.