Intech Investment Management LLC Trims Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 100,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,320 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $8,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 2,785.8% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,358,000 after purchasing an additional 543,517 shares in the last quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,513,000 after purchasing an additional 11,460 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Southern by 1.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,753,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $260,966,000 after purchasing an additional 47,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in shares of Southern by 64.1% in the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 71,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,777,000 after purchasing an additional 27,920 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of SO stock opened at $92.06 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $94.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.84. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $103.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.36.

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, 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on SO shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.38.

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.