Sepio Capital LP Takes Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Sepio Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 30.4% during the third quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SO. UBS Group cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.73.

Southern Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of SO traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.75. The company had a trading volume of 2,424,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,115,094. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $80.14. The company has a market capitalization of $85.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $73.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.79.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.