Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Purchases 6,501 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 27.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,541 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,501 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $2,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $203,000. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC grew its stake in Southern by 103.1% in the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 14,488 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 7,356 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Southern by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $428,794,000 after purchasing an additional 979,756 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $9,007,000. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 219,362 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $18,058,000 after purchasing an additional 52,493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded up $0.35 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $89.99. 953,612 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,481,354. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $76.64 and a twelve month 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. The company has a market capitalization of $98.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.20.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's payout ratio is 70.64%.

Insider Activity

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 value of $2,997,532.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This represents a 23.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 value of $100,811.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.21.

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.