2,215 Shares in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Bought by JBR Co Financial Management Inc

JBR Co Financial Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $848,019,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $315,290,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 325.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,322,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $355,864,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,527 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,936,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Southern by 562.9% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,368,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $112,679,000 after buying an additional 1,162,288 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.00.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $88.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $97.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.38. 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 $76.96 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $89.76 and a 200 day moving average of $87.30.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. Southern’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current 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 3.35%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

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.