592,268 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Acquired by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Magellan Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 592,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $56,686,000. Southern makes up 1.3% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho set a $106.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.09.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $89.09 on Monday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company’s 50 day moving average is $94.52 and its 200 day moving average is $94.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a market cap of $102.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.90%.

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.