The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 371.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 208,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 164,250 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $17,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Southern by 84.9% during the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 244.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $90.37 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $90.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.31. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $76.64 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $99.32 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.64%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,946,985.28. The trade was a 23.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SO. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.07.

Southern Company Profile

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.