Cwm LLC Has $10.78 Million Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Cwm LLC increased its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 22.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 153,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,809 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $10,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 133,177 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,338,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Southern by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 45,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,194,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. raised its holdings in Southern by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 34,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,398,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Robbins Farley lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 31,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,212,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 53.9% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on SO. Barclays raised their target price on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.00.

Southern Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:SO opened at $72.99 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $79.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $75.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

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.