The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by Financial Advocates Investment Management

Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Southern were worth $847,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,021.4% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the transaction, 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 is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company’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 value of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:SO traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $79.54. The company had a trading volume of 4,833,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,668,065. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $79.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 4.43 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. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.47.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Argus upped their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.73.

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.