Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Has $24.46 Million Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 153.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 266,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 161,341 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Southern were worth $24,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 275.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Advantage Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC increased its position in Southern by 309.5% during the second quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Southern in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Southern to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.03.

Southern Stock Down 1.2%

SO opened at $86.25 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $93.15 and a 200-day moving average of $92.46. The company has a market capitalization of $94.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.45. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The business had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

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.