The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 23.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 979,756 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $428,794,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 89,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,363,000 after acquiring an additional 8,261 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $384,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 56,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,115,000 after purchasing an additional 5,904 shares during the period. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 331.0% in the 4th quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 10,494 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $364,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $90.79 on Wednesday. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $76.64 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,946,985.28. This represents a 23.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,148,284.90. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $78.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.21.

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.