Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Buys Shares of 2,686 The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,686 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $376,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 35.2% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 38,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,791,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 151,197 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,847,000 after acquiring an additional 8,197 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % 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. In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’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 transaction of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. 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 currently owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $87.40 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $89.86 and a 200 day moving average of $83.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $95.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Southern Company 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.