Investment Centers of America Inc. Has $4.12 Million Stake in Southern Co (SO)

Investment Centers of America Inc. increased its position in Southern Co (NYSE:SO) by 22.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 82,795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,311 shares during the period. Investment Centers of America Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 4.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,758,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,422,780,000 after buying an additional 2,688,854 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 2,961.9% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 62,067,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,089,736,000 after buying an additional 60,040,696 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Southern by 1.1% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,900,251 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,434,244,000 after buying an additional 515,397 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Southern by 0.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,463,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $570,670,000 after buying an additional 62,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 8.2% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,573,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $475,877,000 after buying an additional 724,650 shares during the last quarter. 53.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Co (NYSE:SO) traded down 0.80% on Friday, hitting $48.42. The stock had a trading volume of 3,227,618 shares. Southern Co has a 52 week low of $46.20 and a 52 week high of $53.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $48.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.64 and a beta of 0.12.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.23 billion. Southern had a negative return on equity of 22.86% and a negative net margin of 24.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Co will post $2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.79%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 346.27%.

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SO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank AG raised Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $50.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Zacks Investment Research cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Barclays PLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Finally, BidaskClub cut Southern from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.79.

In other Southern news, CEO Mark Lantrip sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $1,287,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 31,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,600,620. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher C. Womack sold 75,144 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.29, for a total value of $3,703,847.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,204,338.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 152,084 shares of company stock valued at $7,665,158 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company Profile

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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