ClearBridge Investments Ltd Has $134.88 Million Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

ClearBridge Investments Ltd lessened its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 27.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,738,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 660,362 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises 3.9% of ClearBridge Investments Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. ClearBridge Investments Ltd owned 0.16% of Southern worth $134,882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 100,089,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,180,430,000 after purchasing an additional 481,071 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Southern by 45.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,721,382,000 after buying an additional 7,550,570 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Southern by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,457,000 after acquiring an additional 934,447 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Southern by 21.3% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,572,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $199,528,000 after acquiring an additional 452,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,542,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $197,192,000 after acquiring an additional 51,751 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $89.70 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.95. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $90.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given 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 Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.33.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,845 shares of company stock worth $2,266,455 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

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.