Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC Acquires New Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,876,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Southern by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after purchasing an additional 7,593,224 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Sarl raised its position in shares of Southern by 35.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 22,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 5,912 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Inc. CA raised its position in shares of Southern by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 523,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,647,000 after purchasing an additional 42,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DB&C Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $609,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $92.74 on Monday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $104.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $94.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.84.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on SO. Evercore raised shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.38.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.