Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Has $3.03 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 345.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,558 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $3,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investors Research Corp lifted its stake in Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Elequin Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 60.6% during the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO traded up $0.65 on Wednesday, reaching $91.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,235,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,677,266. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $89.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.99. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $77.71 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The firm has a market cap of $101.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 70.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report 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 objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.