Southern Company (The) $SO Position Increased by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 149,874 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,397 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Southern were worth $13,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 120.1% during the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $93.72 on Thursday. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $105.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $94.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Evercore raised Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.56.

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.