IFM Investors Pty Ltd Boosts Stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 329,655 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,292 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Southern were worth $29,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Investors Research Corp grew its stake in Southern by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 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 buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Down 0.2%

Southern stock opened at $90.97 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $77.47 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.76. The company has a market capitalization of $99.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The business 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 company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp lowered 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. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $94.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.93.

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.