Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Makes New Investment in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,169 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Norges Bank bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $848,019,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $315,290,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 325.7% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,322,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $355,864,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,527 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 562.9% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,368,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $112,679,000 after buying an additional 1,162,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $428,794,000 after buying an additional 979,756 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $89.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,681,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,515,872. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $89.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.24. The company has a market capitalization of $98.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $76.96 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. 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 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 the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The company's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 23.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on SO. KeyCorp cut Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.21.

Southern 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.