Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Sells 235,144 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. reduced its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,365,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 235,144 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises about 1.3% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.12% of Southern worth $112,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Southern by 84.9% in the 4th 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. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 244.4% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $90.12 on Friday. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $67.53 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $87.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $98.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $6.34 billion for 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%. As a group, research analysts expect 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 given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 71.82%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This represents a 23.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on SO. UBS Group raised their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.46.

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.