Leisure Capital Management Purchases Shares of 12,156 The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Leisure Capital Management purchased a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 12,156 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Southern by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,457,000 after purchasing an additional 934,447 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $585,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,547,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on SO. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of SO stock traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $91.38. 437,459 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,432,455. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.33. The stock has a market cap of $99.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $64.53 and a 12 month high of $91.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.42%.

Southern Company 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.