Neo Ivy Capital Management Invests $3.73 Million in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 45,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,734,000. Southern accounts for about 0.8% of Neo Ivy Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $848,019,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $315,290,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Southern by 325.7% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,322,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $355,864,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,527 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Southern by 562.9% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,368,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $112,679,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Southern by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $428,794,000 after acquiring an additional 979,756 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,148,284.90. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. The trade was 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 company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.21.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $88.80 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $76.64 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The firm has a market cap of $97.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

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.