Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Bought by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its Southern Company stake by 1.0% in the first quarter, adding 13,853 shares to own 1.39 million shares valued at approximately $133.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 64.1% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally neutral outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and $100.21 price target. Recent targets range from $99 to $104, while ratings include seven Buys, eleven Holds, and two Sells.
• Southern reported first-quarter results above expectations, with $1.32 EPS and $8.40 billion in revenue, up 8% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76, equivalent to a 3.1% annualized yield.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,386,221 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 13,853 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.12% of Southern worth $133,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $100.21.

Southern Stock Up 0.5%

Southern stock opened at $96.94 on Wednesday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $94.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern's principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.

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