Legacy Advisors LLC Makes New $480,000 Investment in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Southern by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SO. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.71.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,280 shares of company stock worth $1,678,625. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock traded up $0.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $86.40. The stock had a trading volume of 4,137,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,458,000. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $94.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $82.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.52. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $89.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

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.