The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by Financial Security Advisor Inc.

Financial Security Advisor Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 213.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,111 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,248 shares during the period. Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 63.2% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Southern by 31.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Up 0.7 %

Southern stock opened at $88.71 on Wednesday. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. 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 has a market capitalization of $97.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.59.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.27.

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.