Two Sigma Investments LP Acquires New Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 15,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,284,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE SO traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $88.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,995,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,532,984. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $89.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.28. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $76.96 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. Southern'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 year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $92.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.