LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC Takes $258,000 Position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC invested approximately $258,000 in Southern Company by acquiring 2,807 shares during the first quarter.
• Numerous institutional investors increased their holdings, with AlphaCore Capital LLC and Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management significantly boosting their investments by 22.4% and 13.5%, respectively.
• Analysts have set a new average price target for Southern Company at $94.29, with varying ratings from "buy" to "sell" from different research firms.

LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,807 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investors Research Corp raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 60.6% in the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 0.1%

SO traded down $0.11 during trading on Monday, hitting $94.58. 4,313,213 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,183,450. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $92.05 and a 200 day moving average of $89.98.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.