Kovack Advisors Inc. Buys 1,498 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 10.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,498 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Southern by 62.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 63.9% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.2 %

Southern stock opened at $77.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $84.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $77.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.39. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $80.84.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of Southern 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.14.

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.