Southern Company (The) $SO Stock: Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. Boosts Stake

Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 49.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,373 shares during the quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,380,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,895,000 after buying an additional 392,210 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth $737,256,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 9.8% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,681,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $543,793,000 after buying an additional 508,149 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Southern by 0.5% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,785,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $313,785,000 after buying an additional 19,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in Southern by 7.2% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,231,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $311,895,000 after acquiring an additional 216,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Capital One Financial set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson set a $98.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their target price on shares of Southern from $96.50 to $85.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.32.

Southern Stock Up 1.3%

SO stock opened at $93.51 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.30. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $81.69 and a 1-year high of $99.58. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.50.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.23. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%. The business had revenue of $8.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.70 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 69.25%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, EVP Sterling Spainhour, Jr. sold 3,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.81, for a total value of $306,002.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,927,453.66. This represents a 9.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Profile

Southern Company is an energy holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service, primarily across the southeastern United States.

Its electric utility businesses include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers in their respective states. Southern Company also owns Southern Power, which develops and operates wholesale power generation assets, and Southern Company Gas, whose businesses distribute natural gas to customers in several states.

Formed in 1945, Southern Company has grown from a regional electric utility holding company into a diversified energy provider.