Radnor Capital Management LLC Makes New $424,000 Investment in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $424,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its position in Southern by 3.8% in the third quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 5.8% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the second quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $702,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.6 %

Southern stock opened at $86.93 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $89.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.62. The firm has a market cap of $95.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, 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. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SO. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.27.

Southern 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.