Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Has $5 Million Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 71,258 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,481 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $4,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,021.4% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Southern stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $78.71. 5,222,420 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,853,430. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock's fifty day moving average is $71.65 and its 200 day moving average is $70.15. The firm has a market cap of $86.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.48. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $79.16.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.35%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.71.

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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