State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $11.81 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,394 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,445 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Southern were worth $11,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investors Research Corp lifted its position in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Elequin Capital LP lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock traded up $0.00 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $88.42. 5,189,660 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,578,095. The firm 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.86. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $76.96 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $89.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.31.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SO. KeyCorp downgraded Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.