Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. Buys Shares of 3,497 The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,497 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,880 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Southern by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 9,380 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $772,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 7,476 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $615,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of Southern by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 7,475 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $615,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

SO traded down $1.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $88.19. 5,217,872 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,503,677. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The business's 50-day moving average price is $89.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.22. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $76.64 and a 1-year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 70.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This represents a 23.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 approximately $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.