AlphaQuest LLC Has $1.31 Million Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 285.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,233 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern by 275.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Advantage Trust Co boosted its position in Southern by 1,428.6% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. BTIG Research began coverage on Southern in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. Barclays cut their price target on Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.91.

Southern Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE SO opened at $89.32 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $98.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.61. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $82.78 and a 12 month high of $100.83.

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

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 paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.27%.

Southern Profile

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.