Marietta Investment Partners LLC Has $1.99 Million Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Marietta Investment Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 42.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,634 shares during the quarter. Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was 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 $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Evercore upgraded shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.38.

Southern Trading Up 0.1%

SO opened at $90.60 on Thursday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.34 and a 200-day moving average of $91.82. The stock has a market cap of $102.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

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

Southern Profile

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.