Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 23,184 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 43.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 23,184 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. increased its holdings in Southern by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. now owns 32,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,806,000 after buying an additional 11,250 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Southern by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 4,070 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 10,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 19,151 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Finally, Midwest Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 225,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,681,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Evercore upgraded shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Seven equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.85.

Southern Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $93.10 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.86. The company has a market cap of $104.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’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 owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’s 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 owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.