The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Bought by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 15.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,002 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Southern by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.27.

Southern Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $88.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $96.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $64.53 and a 52-week high of $91.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $88.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.74.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The company’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.57%.

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.