Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Has $6.31 Million Position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 821.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 68,644 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 61,194 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $6,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investors Research Corp grew its position in Southern by 400.0% during the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Elequin Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Southern by 60.6% in 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. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $93.20.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $94.76 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $95.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $90.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.60.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.64%.

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.

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