Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Buys 12,317 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 53.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 35,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,317 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SO shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank upped their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.38.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $92.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $104.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $94.13 and its 200 day moving average is $91.87. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

About Southern

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.