XTX Topco Ltd raised its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 27.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,360 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Southern were worth $3,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Southern by 325.7% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,322,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $355,864,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,527 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 11,230.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,954,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $179,690,000 after buying an additional 1,936,965 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 562.9% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,368,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $112,679,000 after buying an additional 1,162,288 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $428,794,000 after buying an additional 979,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 1,747.3% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 896,323 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $73,785,000 after buying an additional 847,803 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Activity at Southern
In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Southern Price Performance
Shares of Southern stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,806,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,454,948. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $91.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.23. The company has a market capitalization of $104.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.
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 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 firm had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Southern's revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.
Southern Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.64%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp downgraded Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.53.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on SO
About Southern
(
Free Report)
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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