Home Federal Bank of Tennessee Boosts Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Home Federal Bank of Tennessee grew its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 11.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee’s holdings in Southern were worth $901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 61.1% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 105,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,469,000 after purchasing an additional 39,840 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 6.3% in the third quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 18,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 12.1% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 35.5% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.4 %

SO traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $92.36. The stock had a trading volume of 384,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,414,823. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $64.53 and a 52 week high of $93.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.95.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 68.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.07.

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.