Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 13.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 829,357 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 98,868 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.08% of Southern worth $76,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,050,209 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,056,441,000 after acquiring an additional 528,870 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Southern by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,805,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $889,490,000 after acquiring an additional 460,594 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $428,794,000 after purchasing an additional 979,756 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 325.7% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,322,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $355,864,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,617,558 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $240,684,000 after purchasing an additional 22,803 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.
Southern Stock Up 0.9%
Shares of SO stock traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $95.18. 5,217,389 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,564,042. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44. The company has a market cap of $104.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company's 50-day moving average price is $91.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.19.
Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Southern Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $93.53.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on SO
Insider Activity
In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Southern Profile
(
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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