Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Boosts Holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 24.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 204,255 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 39,990 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.'s holdings in Southern were worth $18,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Investors Research Corp raised its holdings in Southern by 400.0% during the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Elequin Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 60.6% in 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 during the period. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial started 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. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.93.

Southern Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:SO opened at $90.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $99.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 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. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $76.96 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.55.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The business 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 business's revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. Southern's payout ratio is presently 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.

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