The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stock Position Boosted by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 414.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 131,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 106,304 shares during the period. Southern makes up 0.5% of Edgestream Partners L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Southern were worth $10,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Southern by 62.0% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.71.

Southern Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $89.90 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $85.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $90.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the sale, 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 three months, insiders have sold 27,845 shares of company stock worth $2,266,455. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.