IFM Investors Pty Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 14.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 298,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,754 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Southern were worth $28,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $95.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.89 billion, a PE ratio of 24.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $93.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.54.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Seven investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.26.

Southern Profile

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.