Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Buys 243,000 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 68.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 598,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 243,000 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.05% of Southern worth $49,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 244.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Southern stock traded down $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $91.22. 1,019,737 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,454,849. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $73.20 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $89.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.38. The stock has a market cap of $100.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.75, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.39.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The business had revenue of $6.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.90 billion. Equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 73.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,296. This represents a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. The trade was a 23.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Company Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.