Larson Financial Group LLC Purchases 4,373 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 125.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,373 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 168.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Southern by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its position in Southern by 34.7% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Southern during the second quarter valued at about $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $88.41 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.42 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.47.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.