Penserra Capital Management LLC Buys 11,870 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 413.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,739 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 11,870 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $1,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Investors Research Corp increased its stake in Southern by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Elequin Capital LP lifted its stake in Southern by 60.6% during the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $91.91. 3,235,666 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,677,265. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $77.71 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $101.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $89.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.99.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. Southern'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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. KeyCorp lowered Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. 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 research note on Thursday, June 5th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $92.93.

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.