SG Trading Solutions LLC Purchases New Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

SG Trading Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,396 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $471,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in Southern in the third quarter worth $29,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $93.23 on Friday. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $93.58 and a 200-day moving average of $92.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $105.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.32.

About Southern

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.