Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Has $3.10 Million Holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 75.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investors Research Corp lifted its position in Southern by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Elequin Capital LP increased its holdings 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 period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.93.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $90.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $76.96 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $89.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.55.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

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.

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