Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,633 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,362 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $8,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Investors Research Corp boosted its holdings in Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during 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 purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Elequin Capital LP increased its position in shares of Southern by 60.6% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. KeyCorp lowered Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.93.
Read Our Latest Research Report on SO
Southern Stock Up 0.0%
NYSE SO opened at $88.42 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $97.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $76.96 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $89.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.65.
Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The company's revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Southern Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Southern's payout ratio is currently 70.64%.
Southern Company Profile
(
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.
Further Reading
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