Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. Sells 5,658 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 38.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,208 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,658 shares during the period. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SO. Investors Research Corp boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in Southern during the first quarter valued at $39,000. Elequin Capital LP boosted its position in Southern by 60.6% during the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $93.20.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO traded up $0.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $94.10. The stock had a trading volume of 4,197,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,739,768. The stock has a market cap of $103.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.43. 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 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $94.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

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.