Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,013 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 138,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,485,000 after purchasing an additional 33,266 shares in the last quarter. United Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $202,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $242,000. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 22,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,065,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,148,284.90. This represents a 1.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of SO opened at $88.64 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $84.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $97.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.53. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $67.53 and a 52-week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. Research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Southern’s payout ratio is 71.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.54.

Southern Company 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.