TFR Capital LLC. Acquires New Holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

TFR Capital LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,660 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $612,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SO. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $105,000. Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $413,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 71.4% in the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 934 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Q3 Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $237,000. Finally, Platform Technology Partners boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 3,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $93.26. 4,498,115 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,733,961. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Southern's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.20.

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.