Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 7,815 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $643,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Financial Enhancement Group LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $326,000. Verity & Verity LLC raised its stake in Southern by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,626,000 after acquiring an additional 5,434 shares during the period. Farmers Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Southern by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 48,383 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,983,000 after purchasing an additional 11,605 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Southern by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 237,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $19,556,000 after purchasing an additional 14,824 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 60.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 23,813 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 8,996 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $91.62. The company had a trading volume of 1,038,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,448,190. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $90.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.34. The company has a market capitalization of $100.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.39. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $74.88 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Southern's payout ratio is currently 73.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. The trade was a 23.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho increased their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $93.07.

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.