Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Buys 61,194 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 821.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,194 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Southern by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares in the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP lifted its position in Southern by 124.9% during the 4th quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 5,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 3,094 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Southern by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,903 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 3,237 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southern by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,513,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Haverford Trust Co lifted its position in Southern by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 8,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 1,766 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. 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 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.20.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $94.76 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $90.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.60. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $95.29. The firm has a market cap of $104.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.62, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Southern’s 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.