The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stock Holdings Lessened by PFG Investments LLC

PFG Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 274 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Southern by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 323,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,193,000 after acquiring an additional 13,728 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Southern by 13.6% in the first quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Vicus Capital acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $280,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.0% in the first quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 73,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,239,000 after buying an additional 2,807 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 168,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,124,000 after purchasing an additional 4,923 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded down $1.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $91.88. The stock had a trading volume of 2,498,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,411,693. The company has a market cap of $100.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $89.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.28. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.57%.

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.