Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,948 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $363,000.
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 first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.
Southern Trading Down 1.6%
Shares of Southern stock traded down $1.41 during trading on Monday, hitting $88.94. 2,958,816 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,559,134. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $89.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.30. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $76.96 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66.
Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. Southern's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The 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 issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's payout ratio is presently 70.64%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James began coverage on Southern in a report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.00.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on SO
About Southern
(
Free Report)
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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