Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 398,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,923 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $32,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its position in Southern by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southern by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,381,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC grew its stake in Southern by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 895 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 6,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co lifted its position in shares of Southern by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 671 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on SO. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho increased their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. 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.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.07.

Southern Stock Performance

SO traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $90.37. 2,982,528 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,403,527. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $90.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $76.64 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the company'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 transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,946,985.28. This represents a 23.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,148,284.90. This represents a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784. Corporate insiders own 0.16% 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.