OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Buys 82,890 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 91.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,890 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up approximately 1.1% of OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $14,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Syverson Strege & Co increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,381,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,676,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 6,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $510,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $87.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $96.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $76.64 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $90.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.24.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. The trade was a 23.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.07.

Southern 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.