The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Bought by PBMares Wealth Management LLC

PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SO. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 14,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the third quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 8,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 40.5% in the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,045,000 after buying an additional 3,237 shares during the period. MBA Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth $219,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth $434,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.07.

Southern Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $1.42 on Tuesday, hitting $90.37. The company had a trading volume of 1,236,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,388,282. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.76. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $98.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.57%.

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.