Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC Makes New $1.34 Million Investment in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,251 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,337,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in Southern by 84.9% during the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Southern by 244.4% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $9,946,985.28. This represents a 23.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,296. This represents a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $90.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $90.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.31. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $76.64 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. Southern's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend 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.

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