Allworth Financial LP Buys 2,074 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,074 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 100,089,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,180,430,000 after purchasing an additional 481,071 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Southern by 45.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,721,382,000 after buying an additional 7,550,570 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,718,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $245,113,000 after buying an additional 145,810 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,542,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $197,192,000 after acquiring an additional 51,751 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Southern by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,380,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $184,694,000 after acquiring an additional 297,012 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.07.

Southern Trading Down 1.8 %

Southern stock opened at $91.88 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 3.33 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 Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.