Sweet Financial Partners LLC Buys Shares of 2,386 The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Sweet Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 3,628.6% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 63.2% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Up 0.5 %

Southern stock opened at $92.72 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $64.53 and a 52 week high of $92.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.38 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.49.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock 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 given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

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.