Jennison Associates LLC Trims Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Jennison Associates LLC cut its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 18.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,957,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 440,014 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.18% of Southern worth $140,450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Southern by 62.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 0.3 %

SO traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $77.80. 2,359,644 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,569,988. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $78.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $80.84.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SO. Mizuho lifted their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,026 shares of company stock worth $2,151,644. Company insiders own 0.18% 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.