The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC increased its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 789,070 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,248 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises about 2.8% of Welch Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $56,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Southern by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $78.87. 1,712,964 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,654,421. The firm has a market cap of $86.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $76.35 and a 200 day moving average of $71.93. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $80.84.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho upped their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays upped their target price on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.36.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.