The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Bought by Stiles Financial Services Inc

Stiles Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,218 shares during the quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 100,089,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,180,430,000 after purchasing an additional 481,071 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position 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 worth $1,721,382,000 after acquiring an additional 7,550,570 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,718,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $245,113,000 after acquiring an additional 145,810 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,542,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $197,192,000 after acquiring an additional 51,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in Southern by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,420,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $218,316,000 after purchasing an additional 279,304 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.27.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $87.21 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $95.55 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.62. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.