Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Buys 2,021 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 69.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,021 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 63.2% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Southern by 31.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 34.7% in the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 120.1% during the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $88.34 on Tuesday. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $89.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.89. The company has a market capitalization of $96.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.52.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. Southern’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 3.26%. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. 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 report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.27.

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.