J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 172.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,492 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 52,890 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $7,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investors Research Corp raised its position in shares of Southern by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth $39,000. Elequin Capital LP increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of SO traded up $0.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $94.10. 4,197,840 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,747,839. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $90.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.55. The company has a market capitalization of $103.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $94.63.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.20.

About Southern

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.