Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Reduces Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 436,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,878 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Southern were worth $38,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 17.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after buying an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in Southern by 0.7% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at about $655,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Southern by 11.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,320,000 after buying an additional 46,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in Southern by 2.7% in the second 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 buying an additional 13,392 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SO. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seaport Research Partners lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial began coverage on Southern in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $93.80 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The business has a 50 day moving average of $95.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.77. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $105.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.87, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.36.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

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.