Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 180,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,768 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $15,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $92.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $104.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.83. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.