SHEPHERD WEALTH MANAGEMENT Ltd LIABILITY Co Makes New $702,000 Investment in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

SHEPHERD WEALTH MANAGEMENT Ltd LIABILITY Co bought a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 8,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $702,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $725,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Southern by 154.1% during the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 3,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 2,175 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 19,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,720,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 69.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 2,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $67,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $90.07 on Wednesday. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $67.53 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. As a group, analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 71.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.54.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. This trade represents a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,946,985.28. The trade was a 23.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784 over the last three months. 0.18% 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.