Norris Perne & French LLP MI Raises Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Norris Perne & French LLP MI boosted its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 21.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 383,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 67,550 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for about 2.1% of Norris Perne & French LLP MI's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Norris Perne & French LLP MI's holdings in Southern were worth $26,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth $30,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth $35,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total transaction of $359,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 101,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,291,435.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total value of $359,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 101,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,291,435.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,998 shares of company stock worth $1,806,063. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, December 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.00.

Southern Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of SO traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,829,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,572,321. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $75.80. The company's fifty day moving average price is $68.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.89. The stock has a market cap of $77.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.14%.

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.