The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by Lincoln National Corp

Lincoln National Corp lifted its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,021.4% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 2.0 %

Southern stock traded up $1.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $76.95. 8,919,194 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,824,416. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $84.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.74. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $77.07.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America upped their price objective on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.71.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 19,126 shares of company stock worth $1,364,115. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.