Argyle Capital Management LLC Has $2.16 Million Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Argyle Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Financial Security Advisor Inc. increased its position in Southern by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 12,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,010,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 29,381 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,419,000 after buying an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 10,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $902,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 127,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,457,000 after acquiring an additional 3,191 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Down 0.3 %

Southern stock opened at $88.47 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $84.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.88. 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 Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.99 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The stock has a market cap of $97.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.82%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. This trade represents a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on SO shares. Mizuho increased their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target 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, Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.