Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. Makes New $222,000 Investment in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in Southern by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 209,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,255,000 after buying an additional 27,153 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Southern by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 30,541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,514,000 after acquiring an additional 6,501 shares during the period. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 103.1% in the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 14,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 7,356 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $89.71 on Thursday. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $76.64 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $89.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.18.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.30%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.21.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,946,985.28. The trade was a 23.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. This trade represents 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.

Southern Company 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.