HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,546,875 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,121 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $134,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 120.1% during the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $94.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $95.20 and its 200 day moving average is $91.78. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other 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 value of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.