DDD Partners LLC Has $22.94 Million Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

DDD Partners LLC lifted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 295,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,691 shares during the period. Southern comprises approximately 2.7% of DDD Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. DDD Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $22,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $631,068,000. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,721,382,000 after purchasing an additional 7,550,570 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $128,413,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Southern by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,457,000 after purchasing an additional 934,447 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $56,924,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

SO traded up $0.60 on Monday, hitting $86.40. 4,137,300 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,458,003. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $89.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $94.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.42%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,280 shares of company stock valued at $1,678,625. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.71.

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.