Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Raises Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 62.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,817 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $1,945,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Southern by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $301,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $3,795,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $73.21 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $69.64 and a 200-day moving average of $69.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $80.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Bank of America upped their price target on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.36.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the 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 owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company 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.