The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 66.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,864 shares during the quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. CNB Bank lifted its holdings in Southern by 1,021.4% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 30.4% in the third quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SO. Bank of America raised their target price on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank cut their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Trading Down 1.6 %

Southern stock opened at $73.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $80.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.36. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $75.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.14%.

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.