Bank of Stockton Invests $214,000 in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Bank of Stockton bought a new stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in Southern by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 5.8% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $702,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $92.98. 525,357 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,402,160. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $89.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.20. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 68.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.