UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Takes $205,000 Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Southern by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC grew its stake in Southern by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its position in Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. CNB Bank now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,025 shares of company stock worth $1,424,402. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho upped their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.71.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $75.48. The stock had a trading volume of 8,062,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,777,350. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $76.28. The company has a market cap of $82.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 72.35%.

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.