The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stock Holdings Increased by Diversified LLC

Diversified LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Southern makes up approximately 0.4% of Diversified LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Diversified LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 18,732 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,239,000 after purchasing an additional 2,095 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 7.1% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 12,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $811,000 after buying an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. Searcy Financial Services Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 112,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,271,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 13,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Mizuho upped their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.07.

Southern Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SO traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $72.47. 1,529,641 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,620,389. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $75.80. The company has a market capitalization of $79.33 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.