O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Has $8.52 Million Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 15.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,116 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $8,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Southern by 62.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at $6,620,831.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,026 shares of company stock worth $2,151,644. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.50.

Southern Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Southern stock traded up $1.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $82.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,658,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,450,908. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $82.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $90.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.90 and a 200 day moving average of $73.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

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.