Unionview LLC Takes Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Unionview LLC bought a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 4.9% during the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,957 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in Southern by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 91,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,593,000 after buying an additional 1,415 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 8.5% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $1,188,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.3% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 21,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America raised their price target on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.27.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $87.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.12. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

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.