WCG Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $823,000 in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

WCG Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,002 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $823,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Southern by 84.9% during the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 244.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.3%

Southern stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $89.91. The stock had a trading volume of 4,316,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,494,572. The company has a market cap of $98.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $89.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.20. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $76.64 and a 52 week 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The firm's revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 70.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on SO. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.