CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Increases Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 521,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,446 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings in Southern were worth $37,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $16,067,000. Summit Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $1,288,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Southern by 382.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,998,000 after acquiring an additional 33,120 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 8.8% during the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 11,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,026 shares of company stock worth $2,151,644. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 1.2 %

SO stock traded down $0.99 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $81.68. 2,126,488 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,445,326. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $89.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $78.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.41. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $83.46.

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 business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SO. Barclays lifted their price target on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.50.

Southern 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.