23,550 Shares in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Bought by Tyche Wealth Partners LLC

Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 23,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,651,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank grew its stake in Southern by 1,021.4% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $67.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,426,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,610,187. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74, a P/E/G ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The company’s 50-day moving average is $68.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.95.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,446,113 over the last quarter. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.