CoreCap Advisors LLC Purchases 21,897 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 232.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,321 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,897 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $2,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 102,790,453 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,461,710,000 after acquiring an additional 698,422 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,050,209 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,056,441,000 after purchasing an additional 528,870 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Southern by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,805,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $889,490,000 after purchasing an additional 460,594 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $848,019,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,599,710 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $543,288,000 after buying an additional 194,114 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $92.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67. The business's 50 day moving average price is $90.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.40. The company has a market cap of $101.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The Southern Company has a one year low of $76.64 and a one year high of $94.45.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The business's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Southern's payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.07.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,296. This trade represents a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.

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