Flputnam Investment Management Co. Acquires Shares of 15,207 Southern Company (The) $SO

Flputnam Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 15,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $1,111,450,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Southern by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,587,589,000 after acquiring an additional 7,593,224 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Southern by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,004,866,000 after acquiring an additional 5,436,212 shares in the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,912 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,090 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $92.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $106.32 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $94.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.09.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Southern

About Southern

(Free Report)

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.

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