The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Marshall Financial Group LLC

Marshall Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investors Research Corp grew its position in Southern by 400.0% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Southern by 60.6% in the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock opened at $90.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $99.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.38. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $76.96 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.32.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Southern’s payout ratio is 70.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.00.

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.