Gotham Asset Management LLC Purchases 164,250 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 371.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 208,519 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 164,250 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $17,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Enhancement Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $326,000. Verity & Verity LLC increased its position in Southern by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,626,000 after acquiring an additional 5,434 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Southern by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 237,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,556,000 after acquiring an additional 14,824 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 292,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,095,000 after purchasing an additional 25,200 shares during the period. Finally, AM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 89,441 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,363,000 after purchasing an additional 8,261 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,296. This trade represents a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction 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 $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $90.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.32 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The business's 50-day moving average is $90.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.31. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $76.64 and a 1 year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS 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 company had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Southern's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.74 dividend. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on SO. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern 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 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lifted 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. Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.07.

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.

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