Caprock Group LLC Purchases New Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 17,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,584,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 17.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.4% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 403,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,058,000 after purchasing an additional 9,590 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 25,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,344,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Southern by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 20,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,840,000 after buying an additional 3,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $670,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $94.93 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $100.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $87.90 and a 200 day moving average of $91.38.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.50 target price (up from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $97.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.91.

About Southern

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.