HF Advisory Group LLC Buys 6,512 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

HF Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 18.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 42,063 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,512 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up about 1.4% of HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $97.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $109.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $93.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.33.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $89.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a research report on Monday. Finally, Seaport Research Partners downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.26.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.