The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Northstar Advisory Group LLC

Northstar Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $676,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 72,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,597,000 after acquiring an additional 4,847 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Southern by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 223,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,476,000 after buying an additional 43,681 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 3.2% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,853 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 79.6% in the second quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 10,301 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 4,565 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.9% during the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 19,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO traded up $0.49 during trading on Monday, hitting $81.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,511,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,788,600. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $89.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $85.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.13.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.14.

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.