Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Acquires 272 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 272 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Landmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. IndexIQ Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 60.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Southern from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 23rd. Guggenheim upped their target price on Southern from $76.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, July 21st. Mizuho upped their target price on Southern from $67.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 21st. Barclays decreased their price objective on Southern from $82.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Southern from $81.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.70.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $77.27 on Friday. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.99 and a fifty-two week high of $78.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $82.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.21, a P/E/G ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50-day moving average is $72.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.21.

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.23. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 38.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 15th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 12th. Southern’s payout ratio is 95.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James Y. Kerr II sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $1,900,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 136,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,411,012. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 14,500 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.08, for a total value of $1,045,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 115,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,309,670.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Y. Kerr II sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $1,900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 136,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,411,012. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,083,910 in the last ninety days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Southern

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The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, Wholesale Gas Services, and Gas Marketing Services segments. 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, wholesale gas services, and gas pipeline investments operations.