The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank raised its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 55,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,089,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $426,993,000 after purchasing an additional 111,311 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 49,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,441,000 after purchasing an additional 13,253 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp increased its position in shares of Southern by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 51,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,585,000 after buying an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of SO traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.51. The company had a trading volume of 4,660,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,819,419. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $77.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.82. The stock has a market cap of $84.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is 72.35%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,126 shares of company stock valued at $1,364,115 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.71.

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.