O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Sells 17,941 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 214,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 17,941 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $18,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 2,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $479,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,876,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Southern by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after buying an additional 7,593,224 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Sarl increased its stake in shares of Southern by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 22,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,951,000 after buying an additional 5,912 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.38.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $92.93 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $104.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were 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 of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

Southern Company Profile

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.