The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC

Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 17.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,795 shares during the quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Southern by 3,628.6% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 63.2% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southern

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 shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. This trade 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 available 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 shares were 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 $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SO. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.07.

Southern Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of SO stock opened at $92.27 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $64.53 and a fifty-two week high of $92.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $88.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.41. The stock has a market cap of $100.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.42%.

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.