Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 127,399 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,840 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $11,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Platform Technology Partners boosted its stake in Southern by 3.9% during the first quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 3,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Southern by 1.8% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 321,553 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,567,000 after purchasing an additional 5,735 shares during the period. Realta Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in Southern in the first quarter valued at $200,000. Nikulski Financial Inc. raised its position in Southern by 17.7% in the first quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 4,737 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the first quarter valued at $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group upped their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays upped their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.20.

Southern Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $0.38 on Thursday, hitting $92.93. 550,541 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,717,860. The firm's 50-day moving average is $89.90 and its 200 day moving average is $88.35. The company has a market capitalization of $102.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 70.64%.

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.