Twin Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Twin Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 385 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $266,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 11,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of Southern by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 157,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,924,000 after acquiring an additional 45,500 shares during the period. Rahlfs Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,494,000. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Southern by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 21,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $87.19 on Tuesday. 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 52 week low of $67.53 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $88.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.39.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The company had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.90 billion. Research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.46.

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.