DB&C Advisors LLC Makes New $609,000 Investment in Southern Company (The) $SO

DB&C Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 6,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $609,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after acquiring an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $655,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Southern by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,320,000 after acquiring an additional 46,504 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of Southern by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,268,000 after acquiring an additional 13,392 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $92.74 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $94.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.