Hantz Financial Services Inc. Has $6.40 Million Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Hantz Financial Services Inc. cut its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 73,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,505 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 2,785.8% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,358,000 after purchasing an additional 543,517 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at $4,852,000. Spirepoint Private Client LLC increased its stake in Southern by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,513,000 after purchasing an additional 11,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in Southern by 1.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,753,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $260,966,000 after purchasing an additional 47,451 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Up 0.1%

Southern stock opened at $94.67 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $95.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.79. 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 (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore raised shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. 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. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.56.

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.