The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Tidal Investments LLC

Tidal Investments LLC reduced its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,607 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,206 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $1,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 102,790,453 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,461,710,000 after buying an additional 698,422 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,050,209 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,056,441,000 after acquiring an additional 528,870 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Southern by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,805,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $889,490,000 after purchasing an additional 460,594 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $848,019,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,599,710 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $543,288,000 after purchasing an additional 194,114 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE SO traded up $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $89.91. The stock had a trading volume of 4,316,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,494,572. The company has a market capitalization of $98.82 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $76.64 and a twelve month 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $89.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.20.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $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 owned by company insiders.

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.