Edgestream Partners L.P. Raises Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 100,089,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,180,430,000 after purchasing an additional 481,071 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 53.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,444,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,153,065,000 after purchasing an additional 5,707,845 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $631,068,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,089,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $426,993,000 after purchasing an additional 111,311 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,457,000 after purchasing an additional 934,447 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.6 %

SO traded up $0.45 during trading on Monday, reaching $81.85. The stock had a trading volume of 3,523,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,480,079. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $78.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $89.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $82.84.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,026 shares of company stock worth $2,151,644 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Argus upped their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.