Simplicity Wealth LLC Has $2.17 Million Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,822 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 62.0% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the fourth 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. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 3,628.6% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 1.0 %

SO opened at $86.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $89.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $80.46 and its 200 day moving average is $74.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 17.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. 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 is currently 74.42%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,280 shares of company stock valued at $1,678,625 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on SO shares. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.33.

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.