The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC

Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 454 shares during the period. Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 65,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,624,000 after buying an additional 2,691 shares during the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $587,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Southern by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $899,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $363,000. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its position in Southern by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,589,167 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,432,000 after buying an additional 77,194 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Trading Down 1.2 %

SO stock traded down $0.89 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $73.50. 5,251,424 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,726,238. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $69.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.49. 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 Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $75.80.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The company’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on SO. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.36.

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.