Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd Purchases 11,050 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd lifted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 139.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,050 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up about 0.8% of Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Cornerstone Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 5,583 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. grew its position in shares of Southern by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. now owns 44,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,633,000 after buying an additional 4,225 shares during the period. Adalta Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Adalta Capital Management LLC now owns 32,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,700,000 after buying an additional 3,450 shares during the last quarter. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in Southern by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 209,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,255,000 after acquiring an additional 27,153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $89.71 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.18. 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 Southern Company has a 1 year low of $76.64 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 70.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, KeyCorp cut Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $78.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.21.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.