The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Holdings Raised by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 920 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Old Port Advisors increased its position in shares of Southern by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 28,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Kennedy Investment Group raised its position in Southern by 2.7% in the second quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 8,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $451,000. Finally, Private Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 59.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 12,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $870,000 after purchasing an additional 4,540 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO traded up $0.35 on Friday, reaching $87.36. 3,754,471 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,391,978. The firm has a market cap of $95.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $89.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $81.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly 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. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm 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 firm posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on SO. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.00.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,280 shares of company stock worth $1,678,625. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.