4,828 Shares in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Bought by Wynn Capital LLC

Wynn Capital LLC acquired a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $1,945,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $301,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,795,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 transaction 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.92. The company had a trading volume of 5,660,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,702,166. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $75.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 77.13%.

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.