West Branch Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

West Branch Capital LLC lifted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the quarter. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $45,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors grew its position in Southern by 45.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,721,382,000 after acquiring an additional 7,550,570 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Southern by 2,719.7% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,670,000 after purchasing an additional 841,435 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in Southern by 7,657.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 571,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,304,000 after buying an additional 563,785 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Southern by 35.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,929,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $138,457,000 after buying an additional 500,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 100,089,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,180,430,000 after buying an additional 481,071 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. 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 sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SO traded up $0.54 on Friday, hitting $93.24. 3,663,359 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,440,846. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $64.53 and a 1-year high of $93.35. The company has a market capitalization of $101.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $88.81 and its 200 day moving average is $81.71.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Mizuho cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.07.

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.