PFW Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after buying an additional 952 shares during the period. Northstar Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management increased its position in Southern by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 7,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Southern by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 16,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 research report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE SO traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $81.81. 3,555,407 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,796,600. The company has a market cap of $89.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.13. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

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.