Two Sigma Advisers LP Takes Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 37,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,079,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Southern by 84.9% during the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 244.4% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. The trade was a 23.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $9,148,284.90. The trade was 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 Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock traded up $1.19 on Friday, reaching $89.94. 10,681,858 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,515,872. 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 twelve month low of $76.96 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $89.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.24.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

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