Cohen & Steers Inc. Lowers Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Cohen & Steers Inc. decreased its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 691,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 46,648 shares during the quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $60,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gentry Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 2.3% in the third quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in Southern by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.4% during the third quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.38.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $93.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $93.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.95. The firm has a market cap of $105.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released 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 return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.35%.

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.