Neo Ivy Capital Management Acquires New Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 45,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,734,000. Southern comprises approximately 0.8% of Neo Ivy Capital Management's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $848,019,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $315,290,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 325.7% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,322,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $355,864,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,527 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position 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 purchasing 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 stake in Southern by 23.2% in 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 valued at $428,794,000 after purchasing an additional 979,756 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of Southern 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 directly owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,946,985.28. The trade was a 23.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.21.

Southern Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of Southern stock traded down $1.84 on Wednesday, hitting $88.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,917,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,484,711. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $76.64 and a 1 year 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $89.87 and a 200-day moving average of $87.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. 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 disclosed 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 represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

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.