Allworth Financial LP Acquires 2,074 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 32,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,074 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 382.0% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,998,000 after purchasing an additional 33,120 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 11,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $890,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in Southern by 149.5% during the 2nd quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. now owns 16,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,259,000 after buying an additional 9,726 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 219.4% during the 3rd quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $809,000 after acquiring an additional 6,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $455,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America increased their price target on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.07.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $91.88 on Monday. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $100.46 billion, a PE ratio of 23.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $89.40 and a 200-day moving average of $82.60. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.42%.

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.