GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 4,005 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 23.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,005 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 12,791.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 291,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,037,000 after acquiring an additional 289,731 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. Linscomb Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 10,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $902,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Bridge Advisors bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $555,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.5%

Southern stock opened at $90.78 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.69 and a 200 day moving average of $87.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $76.96 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.26%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.93.

About Southern

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.