AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. Takes $207,000 Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 63.2% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Southern by 31.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 34.7% in the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $91.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.40 and a 200 day moving average of $82.51. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $100.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 68.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.07.

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.