Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) is OLD Republic International Corp's 6th Largest Position

OLD Republic International Corp lifted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 771,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for about 2.8% of OLD Republic International Corp's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. OLD Republic International Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Southern worth $70,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 102,790,453 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,461,710,000 after purchasing an additional 698,422 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,050,209 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,056,441,000 after buying an additional 528,870 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Southern by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,805,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $889,490,000 after buying an additional 460,594 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $848,019,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $428,794,000 after acquiring an additional 979,756 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of SO stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $91.66. 3,433,100 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,674,066. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $77.62 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The firm has a market cap of $100.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50 day moving average is $89.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.93.

About Southern

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.