Geller Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Geller Advisors LLC lifted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Geller Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $52,000. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in Southern by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 15,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in Southern by 7.4% during the second quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 5,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 10.1% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 355,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,605,000 after purchasing an additional 32,579 shares during the period. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its position in Southern by 9.5% in the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 56,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,421,000 after buying an additional 4,927 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE SO opened at $84.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $89.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.45. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45. 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 company has a market capitalization of $92.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Mizuho cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America increased their price target on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.00.

Southern Company 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.