Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 32,516 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 257,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 32,516 shares during the quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $22,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its position in Southern by 2,785.8% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,358,000 after purchasing an additional 543,517 shares during the last quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC raised its position in Southern by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,513,000 after purchasing an additional 11,460 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,753,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $260,966,000 after acquiring an additional 47,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in shares of Southern by 64.1% during the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 71,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,777,000 after acquiring an additional 27,920 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE SO opened at $93.72 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.83. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.56.

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.