Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Raises Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,542,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 51,751 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Southern worth $197,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $631,068,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 45.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,721,382,000 after acquiring an additional 7,550,570 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth $128,413,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,457,000 after acquiring an additional 934,447 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 35.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,929,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,457,000 after acquiring an additional 500,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.71.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,845 shares of company stock valued at $2,266,455. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $89.44 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $97.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $85.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.19. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $90.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

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.