Marshall Financial Group LLC Has $2.81 Million Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Marshall Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 31,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 240 shares during the period. Southern comprises approximately 0.7% of Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $1,547,000. First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in Southern by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 9,440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 21.6% in the first quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 4,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC grew its stake in Southern by 6.8% in the first quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 4,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 49.0% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 56,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,030,000 after acquiring an additional 18,472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $92.72 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $101.38 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a one year low of $64.53 and a one year high of $92.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $88.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on SO. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.07.

Insider Transactions at Southern

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 shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.