The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Bought by Graham Capital Management L.P.

Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 133.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 182,761 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 104,450 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Southern were worth $15,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in Southern by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 244.4% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of SO opened at $90.37 on Friday. 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 Southern Company has a 12 month low of $76.64 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The stock has a market cap of $99.32 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The stock's 50-day moving average is $90.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.36.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Southern's payout ratio is 70.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.07.

About Southern

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.