Meridian Wealth Management LLC Buys 34,813 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 267.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,826 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 34,813 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $3,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Southern by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, CNB Bank grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. CNB Bank now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group downgraded shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.73.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock traded up $0.87 during trading on Friday, reaching $79.54. The company had a trading volume of 4,833,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,668,065. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.92. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $79.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $72.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Southern's payout ratio is 74.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.