Noesis Capital Mangement Corp Purchases Shares of 2,320 The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Noesis Capital Mangement Corp acquired a new position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 168.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Southern by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in Southern by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Southern during the second quarter worth about $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $89.74 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $98.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $89.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.97.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.47.

About Southern

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.