Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 7,933 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 33.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,461 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,933 shares during the quarter. Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $2,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 165.3% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 152,739 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,573,000 after acquiring an additional 95,175 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 27,043 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442 shares during the period. Custom Index Systems LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $223,000. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 9,494 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $782,000 after buying an additional 588 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 9,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 0.1%

Southern stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Thursday, reaching $88.41. 3,295,913 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,517,310. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $76.96 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The company's 50-day moving average is $89.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.29. 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 firm has a market cap of $97.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. On average, analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. This is an increase 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 business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. The trade was a 23.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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, May 2nd. UBS Group increased 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.64.

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.