Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Shares Bought by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 40.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,161,929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 623,417 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.20% of Southern worth $198,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investors Research Corp raised its position in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Elequin Capital LP raised its position in shares of Southern by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $93.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $94.45. The company’s fifty day moving average is $89.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $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 (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The business’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. Analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.74 dividend. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.20.

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.