Aigen Investment Management LP Invests $1.33 Million in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management initiated a new position in Southern Company, buying 15,230 shares valued at about $1.33 million in the fourth quarter.
• Southern reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.32 versus $1.21 expected and revenue of $8.40 billion, up 8% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share from $0.74, implying an annualized yield of about 3.2%.

Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 15,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,328,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 391,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,117,000 after purchasing an additional 9,895 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,880 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,518,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 24,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 341,749 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,800,000 after purchasing an additional 5,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $99.38.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $93.90 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 company has a market cap of $105.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The firm's 50 day moving average is $93.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.95.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Southern's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm'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 directly owned 30,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm'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 directly owned 103,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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.

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