Cerity Partners LLC Has $12.93 Million Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 184,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,692 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $12,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Mizuho raised their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.14.

Southern Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $68.73 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $75.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $75.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.93.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.14%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,446,113. Corporate insiders own 0.37% 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.