The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lowered its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 582 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Enhancement Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,772,000 after purchasing an additional 5,589 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,626,000 after purchasing an additional 5,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,033,000 after buying an additional 140,151 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $82.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $84.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.57. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Southern 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.