IFM Investors Pty Ltd Has $22.86 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 262,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,127 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Southern were worth $22,857,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Keel Point LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 115,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,092,000 after buying an additional 8,797 shares during the last quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $416,000. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL raised its holdings in Southern by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 585,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,057,000 after buying an additional 3,045 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after buying an additional 2,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 54,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,723,000 after buying an additional 8,824 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.38.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $93.37 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.94. The company has a market capitalization of $105.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its 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 company 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%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Southern’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.