Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 3,580 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 77,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $468,000. Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 15.3% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 3,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Southern by 8.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 184,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,290,000 after buying an additional 14,399 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 4.4% during the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $297,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $83.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $84.15 and a 200 day moving average of $86.57. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on SO shares. Guggenheim lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

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.