SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. Makes New Investment in Southern Company (The) $SO

SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $700,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 66,609 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,808,000 after buying an additional 3,604 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 257,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,419,000 after buying an additional 32,516 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Southern by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 266,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,277,000 after buying an additional 5,732 shares in the last quarter. Connecticut Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $319,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,513,000 after buying an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $92.06 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $94.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.43, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.36. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction 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 approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.38.

Southern 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.