Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Purchased by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

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

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Capital World Investors grew its position in Southern by 320.3% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,179,425,000 after acquiring an additional 25,567,431 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,111,450,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its position in Southern by 83.8% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,912 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Southern by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,090 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $131,968,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $93.82 on Tuesday. 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 Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $105.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.00.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on SO. KeyCorp raised Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.38.

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.