Bush Investment Group LLC Has $832,000 Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Bush Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 73.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,896 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises 0.7% of Bush Investment Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Bush Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Southern by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,620,831.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director The Ernest J. Moniz 2018 Trust 8,948 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $88.58. 7,196,642 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,794,487. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $89.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.04.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

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.