Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Southern by 17.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,127,000 after acquiring an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Southern by 0.7% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Southern during the second quarter valued at $655,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Southern by 11.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,320,000 after purchasing an additional 46,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Southern by 2.7% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,268,000 after purchasing an additional 13,392 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of SO opened at $92.74 on Monday. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $94.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.84. The stock has a market cap of $104.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced 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. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business’s 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 directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.