TFG Advisers LLC Increases Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

TFG Advisers LLC raised its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Southern comprises 0.9% of TFG Advisers LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. TFG Advisers LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Southern by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 30,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,719,000 after buying an additional 755 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its holdings in Southern by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 6,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,761 shares in the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Southern by 12.0% during the third quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Plan Group Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 11.6% during the third quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 13,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 19,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,740,000 after buying an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $93.57. The stock had a trading volume of 328,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,407,751. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $89.04 and a 200-day moving average of $82.11. The firm has a market cap of $102.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Southern’s payout ratio is 68.57%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the 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 approximately $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.07.

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.