Tevis Investment Management Buys Shares of 2,377 The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Tevis Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 2,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. West Branch Capital LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.2% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Southern by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.5 %

SO stock opened at $89.38 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $89.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.95. The stock has a market cap of $97.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Barclays increased their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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 note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on 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, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.07.

Southern Company 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.