Fisher Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 5.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 122,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,129 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $11,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,904,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,725,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694,066 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,006,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,377,494,000 after purchasing an additional 241,572 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,179,715,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Southern by 1.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,912,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,003,419,000 after purchasing an additional 107,394 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Southern by 1.3% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,768,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $621,567,000 after purchasing an additional 87,891 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Down 1.2%

SO stock opened at $87.96 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.51. The company has a market capitalization of $96.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.45. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SO. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Cowen started coverage on Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $97.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $102.50 price target (up from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.03.

Southern Company 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.