MRP Capital Investments LLC Buys New Position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• MRP Capital Investments LLC has initiated a new investment in Southern Company, acquiring 3,000 shares worth approximately $276,000 during the 1st quarter.
• Southern Company reported $1.23 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a significant revenue increase of 17.0% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, resulting in a 3.10% dividend yield, with a payout ratio currently at 70.64%.

MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investors Research Corp boosted its position in Southern by 400.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Elequin Capital LP grew its position in shares of Southern by 60.6% during the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $95.18. The company had a trading volume of 5,217,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,564,042. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $96.44. The stock has a market cap of $104.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $93.53.

Southern Company Profile

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.