CI Investments Inc. Purchases 19,400 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

CI Investments Inc. boosted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 69.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 47,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,400 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on SO. KeyCorp cut Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two 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 $100.09.

Southern Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of SO stock opened at $96.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $108.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.34 and a 200-day moving average of $93.67. 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 data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.35%.

Southern Company 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.