Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC Invests $16.10 Million in Southern Company (The) $SO

Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC purchased a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 184,682 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,104,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,127,000 after buying an additional 5,067 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in Southern by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,438,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $655,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Southern by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,320,000 after buying an additional 46,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in Southern by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,268,000 after buying an additional 13,392 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Evercore upgraded Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.38.

Southern Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $89.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.47 and a 200 day moving average of $91.83. The company has a market cap of $100.37 billion, a PE ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors 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 is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.