Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC bought a new position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Wiser Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at $1,183,000. Farmers Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 236.3% during the third quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 36,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,317,000 after buying an additional 25,843 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 33.5% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 285,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,778,000 after buying an additional 71,749 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Southern by 6.9% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 222,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,087,000 after buying an additional 14,380 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.4% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 87,056 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,851,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays raised their price target on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.27.

Southern Stock Down 1.0 %

Southern stock opened at $90.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $62.26 and a 12 month high of $91.86. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.12. 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 posted 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. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The business’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

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.