Kiker Wealth Management LLC Invests $1.15 Million in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Kiker Wealth Management LLC bought a new position 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 13,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,152,000. Southern comprises about 0.9% of Kiker Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SO. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Southern by 61.8% during the fourth quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 4,192 shares during the last quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 6,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $289,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Southern by 76.8% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 360,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,692,000 after acquiring an additional 156,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,799.2% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 2,159 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE SO opened at $90.01 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $67.53 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $98.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.45, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Southern’s payout ratio is 71.82%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,148,284.90. This represents a 1.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.00.

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.