The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by IFG Advisory LLC

IFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,436 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,945,000. Bollard Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.0% during the second quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 431,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,313,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc. grew its position in Southern by 200.9% during the third quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 76,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,933,000 after purchasing an additional 50,897 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $301,000. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Southern by 2.4% during the second quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,712,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, December 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.46.

Southern Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of SO stock opened at $71.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $77.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $68.40 and a 200-day moving average of $68.83. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $75.80.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total value of $359,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 101,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,291,435.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,806,063 in the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.