Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Acquires 27,341 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 460,252 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,341 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $40,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 2,785.8% during the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,358,000 after acquiring an additional 543,517 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,852,000. Spirepoint Private Client LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,513,000 after acquiring an additional 11,460 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Southern by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,753,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $260,966,000 after acquiring an additional 47,451 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. 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. KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.85.

Southern Trading Up 0.0%

SO opened at $92.56 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

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.