Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 2,870.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 313,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 302,651 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $28,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its stake in Southern by 1.1% in the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $922,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 23.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during 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 during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
SO has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.53.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on SO
Insider Activity at Southern
In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.
Southern Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $94.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.61 billion, a PE ratio of 22.50, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $91.27 and a 200-day moving average of $89.32. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44.
Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Southern Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern's payout ratio is 70.64%.
Southern Company Profile
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Free Report)
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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