The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 414.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 131,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 106,304 shares during the period. Southern makes up approximately 0.5% of Edgestream Partners L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Southern were worth $10,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 100,089,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,180,430,000 after purchasing an additional 481,071 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Southern by 45.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,721,382,000 after buying an additional 7,550,570 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $631,068,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Southern by 36.0% in 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 buying an additional 934,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Southern by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,572,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $199,528,000 after acquiring an additional 452,075 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SO. Bank of America upped their price target on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,620,831.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,845 shares of company stock worth $2,266,455 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $89.90 on Tuesday. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $90.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.35. The firm has a market cap of $98.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Southern Company 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.