The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by Boston Partners

Boston Partners increased its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 355,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,867 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in Southern were worth $29,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Horizon Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 20,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,693,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 49,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,067,000 after buying an additional 1,640 shares during the period. Clarity Wealth Development LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $453,000. Mystic Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after buying an additional 796 shares during the period. Finally, Haven Capital Group Inc. acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $233,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.54.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $89.65 on Thursday. The Southern Company has a one year low of $67.53 and a one year high of $94.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $86.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.22. The stock has a market cap of $98.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,296. This trade represents a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09 % decrease in their position. 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. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.