Southern Company (The) $SO Stock Position Lifted by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 88.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 67,802 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $12,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Spirepoint Private Client LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,513,000 after purchasing an additional 11,460 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its position in shares of Southern by 243.3% during the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 20,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 14,753 shares during the period. Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $4,443,000. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $2,462,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore upgraded Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.38.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $93.82 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 stock has a market capitalization of $105.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.00. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company Profile

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.