Verity & Verity LLC Has $17.72 Million Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Verity & Verity LLC lifted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 196,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Southern makes up approximately 1.7% of Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $17,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Southern by 31.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 34.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 120.1% in the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $88.05 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $89.82 and its 200 day moving average is $84.46. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.