Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Little House Capital LLC

Little House Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 145.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,286 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,771 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $2,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 0.9% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,617,558 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $240,684,000 after purchasing an additional 22,803 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 18.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 1.1% during the first quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 15,396 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 0.7% during the first quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,503 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,609,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 2.2% in the first quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,424 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $90.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $89.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.52. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $76.96 and a 12 month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. KeyCorp downgraded 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. Barclays upped their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.93.

Southern 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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