Vista Investment Partners LLC Makes New $209,000 Investment in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Vista Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $631,068,000. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Southern by 45.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,721,382,000 after buying an additional 7,550,570 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $128,413,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Southern by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,457,000 after purchasing an additional 934,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,924,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $87.36. The company had a trading volume of 3,754,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,391,978. The stock has a market cap of $95.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $89.68. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.30.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Southern from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Argus raised their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.00.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 21,280 shares of company stock worth $1,678,625 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.