Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Increases Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Southern Company by 51.8%, acquiring an additional 51,870 shares in the first quarter.
• Southern Company reported earnings of $0.91 per share, missing analysts' estimates, although its revenue rose to $6.97 billion for the quarter.
• Southern's quarterly dividend of $0.74 will be paid on September 8th, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.1%.

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 51.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 151,920 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 51,870 shares during the quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Southern were worth $13,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Investors Research Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 60.6% in the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.29.

Southern Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Southern stock traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $94.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,477,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,203,186. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $96.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $92.13 and a 200-day moving average of $90.01. The stock has a market cap of $104.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38. 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 (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Southern's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.