Clarendon Private LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• Clarendon Private LLC increased its stake in Southern Company by 73.0%, now owning 9,450 shares valued at $869,000.
• CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares for $1,250,010, representing a 12.32% reduction in her ownership.
• Southern Company reported a net revenue of $7.78 billion for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a 17.0% increase year-over-year.

Clarendon Private LLC increased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 73.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 3,988 shares during the period. Clarendon Private LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investors Research Corp increased its stake in Southern by 400.0% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Elequin Capital LP increased its stake in Southern by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SO. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp downgraded Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.20.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $95.24. 3,878,039 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,178,160. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.32. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.44. The firm has a market cap of $104.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. Southern's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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.