Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 416,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $34,291,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Southern by 84.9% during the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 244.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $87.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,462,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,555,540. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $67.53 and a 12 month high of $94.45. 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 company has a market capitalization of $96.32 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.39. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $88.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.27.

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Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. Analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern's payout ratio is 71.82%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, 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 value of $100,811.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. This represents a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised 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 reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.00.

Southern 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.