Cwm LLC Has $14.43 Million Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Cwm LLC boosted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 63.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 165,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 64,104 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $14,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Southern by 2,785.8% in the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,358,000 after purchasing an additional 543,517 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,813,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,852,000. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,753,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $260,966,000 after purchasing an additional 47,451 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $94.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $106.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $95.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.22.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on SO shares. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Southern and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This 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 available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Company 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.