W Advisors LLC Buys 287 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

W Advisors LLC raised its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. W Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $2,037,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 40,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 5,195 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 213.8% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 143,934 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,092,000 after purchasing an additional 98,068 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $233,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 40,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,849,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Mizuho upped their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.71.

Southern Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:SO traded up $0.52 on Friday, reaching $75.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,578,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,244,740. The firm has a market cap of $83.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $70.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.64. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.98.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.11%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,025 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,402. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.