Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Acquires 25,558 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 345.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 25,558 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $3,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Investors Research Corp lifted its holdings in Southern by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Elequin Capital LP grew its position in 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 buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth $49,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.93.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $92.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,014,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,703,700. The stock has a market cap of $101.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a PEG ratio of 3.29 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. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $89.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.08. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $78.61 and a 1 year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. Southern's revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.64%.

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.