Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,655,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,941 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Southern were worth $256,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Uptick Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.4% during the first quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG boosted its stake in Southern by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. grew its position in Southern by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Southern from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.91.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $95.81 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $94.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.60. The firm has a market cap of $108.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

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.