Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Raises Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI grew its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 63,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Amundi increased its holdings in Southern by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,780,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $230,807,000 after buying an additional 284,022 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 29,820 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,455,000 after buying an additional 5,337 shares during the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 1,057.6% during the fourth quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 64,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,295,000 after buying an additional 58,769 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 10,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $839,000 after buying an additional 2,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,350,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.54.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. This represents a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $91.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $100.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.83, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $85.07 and its 200 day moving average is $87.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $67.53 and a 52-week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The firm had revenue of $6.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.90 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.82%.

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.