5,811 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Bought by Kesler Norman & Wride LLC

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $507,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 17.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,127,000 after buying an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in Southern by 0.7% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,438,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth $655,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Southern by 11.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,320,000 after buying an additional 46,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in Southern by 2.7% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,268,000 after buying an additional 13,392 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $90.60 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.34 and a 200-day moving average of $91.82. The stock has a market cap of $102.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.38.

Southern Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.