Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC Takes $484,000 Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $484,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,067,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 382.0% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,998,000 after buying an additional 33,120 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 11,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $890,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank grew its position in Southern by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 9,440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Southern by 149.5% during the 2nd quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. now owns 16,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 9,726 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America upped their price target on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine 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 an average target price of $88.27.

Southern Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:SO traded up $0.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $88.96. 3,081,166 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,464,834. The firm has a market cap of $97.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $64.53 and a fifty-two week high of $91.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.92.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

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.