Capital Innovations LLC Takes Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Capital Innovations LLC bought a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 115,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,104,000. Southern comprises approximately 2.9% of Capital Innovations LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Gentry Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 2.3% during the third quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 0.9% during the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 0.4% during the third quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:SO opened at $90.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $101.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $94.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.83. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on SO. Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seaport Research Partners lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.38.

About Southern

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.