Cohen & Steers Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Cohen & Steers Inc. reduced its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 691,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 46,648 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. owned about 0.06% of Southern worth $60,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $93.90 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS 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 business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.76 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was 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 approximately $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.38.

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.