Magellan Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 592,268 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $56,686,000. Southern comprises approximately 1.3% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned 0.05% of Southern as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Southern by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,090 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Southern by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,587,589,000 after buying an additional 7,593,224 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Southern by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,004,866,000 after acquiring an additional 5,436,212 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Southern by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,381,344,000 after acquiring an additional 384,860 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $1,111,450,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $100.09.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Southern
Southern Stock Performance
NYSE SO opened at $89.09 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.44. The company has a market cap of $102.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83.
Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Southern Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.90%.
About Southern
(
Free Report)
Southern Company NYSE: SO is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.
Southern's principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.
Further Reading
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