The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Position Trimmed by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,309,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,295 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Southern worth $91,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 112.8% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 136,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,864,000 after purchasing an additional 72,598 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its holdings in Southern by 1.6% during the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 310,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,115,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Investment Group lifted its holdings in Southern by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 8,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 4.1% in the third quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 7,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in Southern by 325.7% during the 3rd quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 67,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,342,000 after acquiring an additional 51,333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $75.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $83.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.22 and a 200-day moving average of $69.58.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 16.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 72.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho boosted their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,025 shares of company stock worth $1,424,402. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Southern

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.