Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Acquired by Capital World Investors

Capital World Investors grew its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 22.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,593,224 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned 3.74% of Southern worth $3,587,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Gentry Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 5.2% in 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. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 0.4% in 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. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $92.74 on Friday. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $104.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. KeyCorp raised Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Evercore raised Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $87.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.38.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.