Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 401,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,644 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Southern were worth $35,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Southern by 320.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,179,425,000 after buying an additional 25,567,431 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $1,111,450,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its stake in Southern by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,266,000 after buying an additional 1,867,912 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after buying an additional 1,643,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Southern by 1,518.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,044,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,880,000 after buying an additional 979,587 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $89.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.83. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction 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 $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SO. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on shares of Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Evercore upgraded shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.38.

About Southern

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.