JPL Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 23,275 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,632,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,572,665 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,444,343,000 after acquiring an additional 352,023 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 5.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,906,760 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,518,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838,857 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Southern by 1.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,737,843 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $694,953,000 after buying an additional 163,986 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Southern by 3.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,811,307 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $634,988,000 after buying an additional 349,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $631,068,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock traded down $1.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $78.69. 3,354,389 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,808,948. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $72.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.62. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $80.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $86.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.48.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Southern's payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on SO. Mizuho raised their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Argus raised their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. UBS Group cut 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 research note on Thursday, April 4th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.73.

About Southern

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.