The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC

Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,381 shares during the period. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Baugh & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 61,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,384,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Wealth Architects LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth about $229,000. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $813,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 80,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,222,000 after purchasing an additional 2,930 shares during the period. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $424,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 1.5 %

Southern stock opened at $87.40 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $89.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.62. The stock has a market cap of $95.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several research reports. 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 note on Tuesday, August 20th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Mizuho lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.27.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company 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.