The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stock Holdings Increased by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 3,628.6% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Southern by 63.2% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $92.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $88.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.41. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $64.53 and a fifty-two week high of $92.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America increased their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.07.

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.