Wilkins Miller Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Shares in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Wilkins Miller Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,369 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $607,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 117.0% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its position in Southern by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,880 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Southern by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 9,380 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $772,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in Southern by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 7,476 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 7,475 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.21.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $89.55. 1,707,183 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,490,083. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $76.87 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.