Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Takes $207,000 Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,945,000. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 65,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,624,000 after purchasing an additional 2,691 shares in the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Southern by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the period. Finally, Apella Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $301,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $78.25 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $71.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.93. The firm has a market cap of $85.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $78.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,126 shares of company stock worth $1,364,115 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.71.

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.