Claro Advisors LLC Increases Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Claro Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 864 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its position in Southern by 309.9% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 14,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 11,243 shares in the last quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 8,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Southern by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 15,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth $530,000. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Southern by 6.6% during the first quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 5,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded down $0.57 during trading on Monday, hitting $77.00. The company had a trading volume of 2,936,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,645,003. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $80.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $77.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $84.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% 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, analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SO. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.