Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Bought by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 14.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 298,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,754 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Southern were worth $28,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wagner Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Southern by 127.1% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 23.6% in the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $526,000 after buying an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.7% in the first quarter. Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,546,000 after buying an additional 1,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 20.8% during the first quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:SO opened at $95.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $93.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Seaport Research Partners lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.26.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.