Aquatic Capital Management LLC Takes $13.98 Million Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 147,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,975,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 120.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE SO opened at $98.06 on Friday. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market capitalization of $107.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $91.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.58.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The company’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Southern and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.08.

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.