65,800 Shares in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Purchased by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 65,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,417,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its position in Southern by 84.9% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Southern by 244.4% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on SO shares. Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.21.

Southern Trading Up 0.3%

SO traded up $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $89.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,316,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,494,572. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $76.64 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $89.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Southern's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 70.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,148,284.90. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.