The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Breakwater Capital Group

Breakwater Capital Group lifted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 22.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Breakwater Capital Group’s holdings in Southern were worth $535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 62.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 3,628.6% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America upped their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.14.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $85.75. The stock had a trading volume of 4,115,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,456,545. The company’s fifty day moving average is $82.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $89.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Southern news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,280 shares of company stock valued at $1,678,625 over the last 90 days. 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.