Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Invests $6.91 Million in Southern Company (The) $SO

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 77,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,907,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth $1,813,000. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 34,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,171,000 after acquiring an additional 6,843 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its stake in Southern by 23.6% in the second quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 7,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,000 after acquiring an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Shelton Capital Management increased its stake in Southern by 700.6% in the second quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 161,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,841,000 after acquiring an additional 141,430 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in Southern by 5.5% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 822,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $75,521,000 after purchasing an additional 42,531 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of SO opened at $87.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $96.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.65, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $87.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.78. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $82.05 and a 52-week high of $100.83.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $84.00 in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Southern from $107.00 to $99.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Southern from $97.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.56.

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.