First National Advisers LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

First National Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,256 shares during the period. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Abel Hall LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 4.3% during the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 8.0% in the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 0.7% in the third quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,209 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,637,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.54.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,946,985.28. The trade was a 23.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.9 %

Southern stock opened at $90.44 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $67.53 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $99.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $85.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.13.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The firm had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.90 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.82%.

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.