Shell Asset Management Co. Has $1.62 Million Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 20.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,816 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $136,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 693,223 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,609,000 after buying an additional 31,203 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 74.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 119,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,392,000 after acquiring an additional 51,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Southern by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Southern Trading Up 0.8 %

Southern stock traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $82.32. 759,745 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,432,855. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $83.46.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.50.

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.