Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by Stonebridge Financial Group LLC

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 75.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,657 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,513 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $3,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Southern by 12,791.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 291,996 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,037,000 after acquiring an additional 289,731 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $219,000. Linscomb Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 10,955 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $902,000 after buying an additional 1,704 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,937 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Bridge Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $555,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, KeyCorp cut Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $92.93.

Southern Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE SO traded down $1.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $90.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,436,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,654,023. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $77.00 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $89.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38. 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 issued its 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 firm had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid 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 yield of 3.25%. Southern's payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Southern Company 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.