Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Has $20.64 Million Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. decreased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 294,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,400 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Southern were worth $20,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 1.2 %

Southern stock traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $68.73. The stock had a trading volume of 4,818,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,159,216. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $75.80. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 28,691 shares in the company, valued at $2,007,222.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,998 shares of company stock worth $1,446,113. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho raised their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.14.

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.