3,274 Shares in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Bought by MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc.

Key Points

• MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. invested approximately $301,000 in Southern Company by acquiring 3,274 shares during the first quarter.
• Southern Company reported $1.23 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a 17.0% year-over-year revenue growth to $7.78 billion.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, representing a yield of 3.10% and a payout ratio of 70.64%.

MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,274 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Republic Capital LLC boosted its position in Southern by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southern by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,123 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,091,000 after buying an additional 17,491 shares during the last quarter. AGP Franklin LLC boosted its position in Southern by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 13,458 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Southern by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 829,357 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,259,000 after buying an additional 98,868 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on SO. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price target 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. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.53.

Southern Trading Up 0.9%

Southern stock traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $95.18. The stock had a trading volume of 5,217,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,564,042. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $90.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.15. The firm has a market cap of $104.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $96.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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.