Private Advisor Group LLC Grows Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,940 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $7,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Southern by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:SO traded up $0.32 on Friday, reaching $78.04. 2,342,922 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,587,254. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.43. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $80.84. The company has a market capitalization of $85.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (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 12.07%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus increased their price target on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.14.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern 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.