Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 344,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,767 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Southern were worth $24,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 62.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on SO. Argus lifted their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.73.

Southern Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $77.75. The stock had a trading volume of 2,424,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,115,094. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $80.14. The firm has a market cap of $85.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $73.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern 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.