Vident Advisory LLC Has $5.12 Million Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 118.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 62,130 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 33,628 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Syverson Strege & Co lifted 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 buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted 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 valued at $3,381,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,676,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 15.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 6,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $89.49 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $98.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $76.64 and a 1 year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. Southern’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.21.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,148,284.90. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.