King Luther Capital Management Corp Has $10.69 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in Southern Company by 2.8%, acquiring an additional 3,159 shares to hold a total of 116,267 shares valued at approximately $10.69 million.
• CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares for around $1.25 million, resulting in a 12.32% decrease in her position.
• Southern Company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74, with a dividend yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 76.09%.

King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 3,159 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp's holdings in Southern were worth $10,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investors Research Corp grew its stake in Southern by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth $33,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Southern by 60.6% during the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.29.

Southern Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE SO traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $94.25. 5,252,452 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,203,480. The company's fifty day moving average is $92.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $96.44. The stock has a market cap of $103.68 billion, a PE ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.09%.

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.