Orca Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Orca Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 4,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $369,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Financial Enhancement Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,772,000 after purchasing an additional 5,589 shares in the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,626,000 after acquiring an additional 5,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,033,000 after buying an additional 140,151 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $83.67 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $84.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.55. The firm has a market cap of $91.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 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. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.