IFG Advisory LLC Grows Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

IFG Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 87,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SO. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total transaction of $359,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 101,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,291,435.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total transaction of $359,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 101,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,291,435.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,806,063. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $71.06 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $77.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.83. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, December 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.46.

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.