Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Purchased by Csenge Advisory Group

Csenge Advisory Group grew its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 10.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,586 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $737,256,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $264,829,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $191,120,000. Energy Income Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $166,114,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $157,217,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southern

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Southern from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.50 to $85.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.32.

Southern Trading Up 0.0%

Southern stock opened at $93.60 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.84. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.97 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.30. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $81.69 and a 52 week high of $99.58.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.23. Southern had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 16.00%. The firm had revenue of $8.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern’s payout ratio is 69.25%.

About Southern

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.