Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,186 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,511 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $12,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 102,790,453 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,461,710,000 after purchasing an additional 698,422 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,050,209 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,056,441,000 after buying an additional 528,870 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Southern by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,805,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $889,490,000 after buying an additional 460,594 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $848,019,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,599,710 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $543,288,000 after acquiring an additional 194,114 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.
Southern Price Performance
Southern stock opened at $91.06 on Monday. 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 Southern Company has a 52 week low of $74.88 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $90.09 and a 200-day moving average of $87.35.
Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Southern Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 3.25%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 73.82%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.07.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on SO
Insider Activity
In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,946,985.28. The trade was a 23.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.
About Southern
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report).
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