Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 123.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,903 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 40,209 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up approximately 0.2% of Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.'s holdings in Southern were worth $6,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Southern by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after buying an additional 4,005 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 4.1% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC raised its position in Southern by 0.4% during the first quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,000,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Southern during the first quarter worth about $945,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 398,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,815,000 after purchasing an additional 15,923 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Southern Trading Down 0.6%
Shares of Southern stock traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $94.75. 4,148,246 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,395,827. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $91.95 and a 200-day moving average of $89.80. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44. The company has a market cap of $104.23 billion, a PE ratio of 24.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74.
Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Southern Dividend Announcement
The business 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. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.09%.
Insider Activity
In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.29.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on SO
Southern Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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