17,954 Shares in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Bought by Summit Financial LLC

Summit Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,954 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,288,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,141 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Southern by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its position in Southern by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,399,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC raised its position in Southern by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $738,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its position 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 buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on SO. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho raised their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.73.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock traded down $1.52 on Thursday, hitting $77.18. 3,889,629 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,799,772. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.48. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $80.14. The firm's 50 day moving average is $73.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.72.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, 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. In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was 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 owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the sale, 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 owned by corporate insiders.

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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