Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. Acquires 743 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,287 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises approximately 1.2% of Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 10.8% during the third quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. Nikulski Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $330,000. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 23.6% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Tevis Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, Goldstone Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $539,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SO. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective 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. Scotiabank increased their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was 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 hyperlink. In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.8 %

SO stock opened at $90.99 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $89.69 and its 200-day moving average is $83.01. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 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.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.