The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Shell Asset Management Co.

Shell Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 52.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,366 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,865 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Southern were worth $689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Syverson Strege & Co raised its holdings in Southern by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,381,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,676,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 895 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 6,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO traded down $1.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $89.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,104,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,483,514. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $76.64 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $89.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.18. The company has a market capitalization of $98.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The business 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho raised their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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, Barclays raised their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.21.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 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 approximately $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.