Private Advisor Group LLC Purchases 14,405 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 101,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,405 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $7,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Southern by 3.9% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 185,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,988,000 after purchasing an additional 6,997 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 58.8% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 37,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,424,000 after buying an additional 13,873 shares during the period. Gratus Capital LLC increased its stake in Southern by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Gratus Capital LLC now owns 6,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Traverso Chambers Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 3.7% during the third quarter. Traverso Chambers Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 12.2% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,126 shares of company stock valued at $1,364,115 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.1 %

Southern stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 546,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,776,819. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $77.07. The stock has a market cap of $84.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.78 and a 200-day moving average of $69.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.35%.

About Southern

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.