UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Increases Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 30.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,846 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its position in Southern by 84.9% during the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 244.4% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 1.2 %

Southern stock opened at $90.12 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $67.53 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $98.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. Equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SO. Morgan Stanley reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank upped their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Company 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.