Jones Financial Companies Lllp Boosts Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 164,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,264 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Southern were worth $15,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,904,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,725,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694,066 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,006,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,377,494,000 after purchasing an additional 241,572 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,179,715,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,768,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $621,567,000 after buying an additional 87,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 9,099.6% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,011,000 after buying an additional 4,373,271 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.91.

Southern Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:SO opened at $90.23 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $87.51 and a 200-day moving average of $91.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.45. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $82.90 and a 52 week high of $100.83.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s payout ratio is 73.27%.

About Southern

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.