GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 79,471 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,542,000.
A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 2,137 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,880 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Southern by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 9,380 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $772,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 7,476 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional raised its position in shares of Southern by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 7,475 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $615,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity
In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
SO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $92.21.
View Our Latest Research Report on SO
Southern Price Performance
Shares of Southern stock traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $89.19. 1,418,869 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,488,685. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $89.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.23. The stock has a market cap of $98.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.23, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $76.87 and a 12 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.
Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.
Southern Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.74 dividend. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.64%.
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.
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