Wealthfront Advisers LLC Grows Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 24.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 204,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,456 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $19,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,111,450,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Southern by 22.6% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Southern by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,004,866,000 after acquiring an additional 5,436,212 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its stake in Southern by 83.8% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,643,090 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on SO shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Barclays cut their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.91.

Southern Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $95.95 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $94.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

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.