Southern Company (The) $SO Stock Position Lifted by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 384,860 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,381,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $473,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,188,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Evercore upgraded Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.56.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $93.72 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $105.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.36. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.