M Holdings Securities Inc. Buys 24,881 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 24,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,194,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Uptick Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Optivise Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 3.8% during the third quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.3% during the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,313,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 3.7% in the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Advisortrust Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 5.0% in the first quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of SO stock opened at $93.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $88.26 and a 200-day moving average of $92.50. The stock has a market cap of $107.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.30. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $81.69 and a 52-week high of $99.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.23. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The business had revenue of $8.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling Spainhour, Jr. sold 3,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.81, for a total transaction of $306,002.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,886 shares in the company, valued at $2,927,453.66. This trade represents a 9.46% 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. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of several research reports. HSBC started coverage on Southern in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.50 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Capital One Financial set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Monday. Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on Southern and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.32.

Southern Profile

Southern Company is an energy holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service, primarily across the southeastern United States.

Its electric utility businesses include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers in their respective states. Southern Company also owns Southern Power, which develops and operates wholesale power generation assets, and Southern Company Gas, whose businesses distribute natural gas to customers in several states.

Formed in 1945, Southern Company has grown from a regional electric utility holding company into a diversified energy provider.