Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. Invests $376,000 in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Southern by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,620,831.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,280 shares of company stock worth $1,678,625. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Argus raised their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Southern from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.71.

Southern Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $88.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $96.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $90.34. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.27.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Southern 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.