Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lowered its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,854,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 18,165 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up approximately 1.8% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.17% of Southern worth $143,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 0.5% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Southern by 45.9% during the 1st 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 stake 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 acquiring an additional 934,447 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Southern by 21.3% in the 2nd 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. raised its stake in Southern by 2.1% during the 2nd 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 period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $90.10 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.60. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $90.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.42%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,845 shares of company stock worth $2,266,455. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.60.

Southern Company 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.