Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. reduced its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 22,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Southern Company (The) were worth $1,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) during the fourth quarter worth about $1,561,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) during the fourth quarter worth about $3,498,000. Teachers Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Southern Company (The) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 1,580,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,760,000 after buying an additional 6,988 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) during the fourth quarter worth about $9,331,000. Finally, Access Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) during the fourth quarter worth about $1,267,000. 53.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Southern Company (NYSE:SO) opened at 48.79 on Monday. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $46.20 and a 52 week high of $53.73. The stock has a market cap of $48.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.25 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.48.
Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Southern Company (The) had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 11.30%. The business had revenue of $5.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post $2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. Southern Company (The)’s dividend payout ratio is currently 346.27%.
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SO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research lowered Southern Company (The) from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, June 16th. BidaskClub lowered Southern Company (The) from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 24th. Macquarie upgraded Southern Company (The) from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Southern Company (The) from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 23rd. Finally, Barclays PLC restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $56.00 target price (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Southern Company (The) in a research note on Sunday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Southern Company (The) presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.54.
In related news, EVP Christopher C. Womack sold 75,144 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.29, for a total transaction of $3,703,847.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,204,338.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ann P. Daiss sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.28, for a total transaction of $256,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,164.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 152,084 shares of company stock valued at $7,665,158 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About Southern Company (The)
The Southern Company (Southern Company) is a holding company. The Company owns all of the stock of the traditional electric operating companies and the parent entities of Southern Power Company (Southern Power) and Southern Company Gas, and owns other direct and indirect subsidiaries. The Company’s segments include Gas distribution operations, Gas marketing services, Wholesale gas services, Gas midstream operations and All other.
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