Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC Boosts Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 81,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,098 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $134,000. Nepsis Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 69.6% during the first quarter. Nepsis Inc. now owns 42,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,023,000 after buying an additional 17,289 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $431,000. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 24.5% during the first quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $78.02 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.14. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $85.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $80.84.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.14.

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.