The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1,019.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 95,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,879 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $8,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its stake in Southern by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Southern by 5.8% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.5% in the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 4.3% in the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $84.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $92.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.36. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.47.

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.