GEM Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

GEM Asset Management LLC raised its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the quarter. GEM Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Southern by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,721,382,000 after buying an additional 7,550,570 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $128,413,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Southern by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,457,000 after purchasing an additional 934,447 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Southern by 2,719.7% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,670,000 after buying an additional 841,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position in shares of Southern by 7,657.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 571,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,304,000 after purchasing an additional 563,785 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.27.

Southern Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE SO traded down $0.25 during trading on Thursday, reaching $88.68. 743,754 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,458,913. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.74. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $64.53 and a 12-month high of $91.86. 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 firm has a market cap of $96.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.42%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826 in the last ninety days. 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.