World Investment Advisors Raises Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 53.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,519 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Southern were worth $2,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $92.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.80. The company has a market cap of $104.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.36.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on shares of Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.85.

Southern Profile

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.