The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by Naviter Wealth LLC

Naviter Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 46,432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593 shares in the last quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 3.7% during the third quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 9,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $856,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Kaydan Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $285,000. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 12,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,795 shares during the period. Finally, Leisure Capital Management bought a new stake in Southern in the third quarter worth about $1,096,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $92.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 347,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,425,899. The company has a market cap of $101.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.52. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $88.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.41. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $64.53 and a fifty-two week high of $92.78.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on SO. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Mizuho cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.07.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.