Lifeworks Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 32.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,279 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 20,953 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for approximately 1.3% of Lifeworks Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Lifeworks Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $7,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,465,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its stake in Southern by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.9% in the first quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 1.4% during the first quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $93.53.

Southern Trading Down 1.3%

SO stock traded down $1.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $94.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,098,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,097,353. The business's 50 day moving average price is $90.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.06. The company has a market cap of $103.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Southern's payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

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.