Keeler & Nadler Financial Planning & Wealth Management Acquires New Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Keeler & Nadler Financial Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Southern by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,721,382,000 after purchasing an additional 7,550,570 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $128,413,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,457,000 after buying an additional 934,447 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Southern by 2,719.7% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,670,000 after acquiring an additional 841,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in Southern by 7,657.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 571,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,304,000 after acquiring an additional 563,785 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction 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 approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SO. Mizuho lowered 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.27.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $88.27 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $88.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.74. 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 Southern Company has a 12-month low of $64.53 and a 12-month high of $91.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.57%.

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.