Symmetry Partners LLC Takes $289,000 Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Symmetry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $289,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Southern by 76.8% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 360,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,692,000 after purchasing an additional 156,702 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Southern by 1,799.2% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 2,159 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Southern by 47.1% in the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 17,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 5,636 shares during the last quarter. SageOak Financial LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $646,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $292,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE SO opened at $89.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.22. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $67.53 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $98.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. Equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.82%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,148,284.90. This represents a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. The trade was a 23.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.54.

About Southern

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.