Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. Boosts Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 13.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised 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 worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Southern by 31.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Mizuho cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.07.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $93.24. 3,663,359 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,440,846. The firm has a market cap of $101.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.71. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $64.53 and a 1-year high of $93.35.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 earned $0.79 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.