Spire Wealth Management Purchases 10,216 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 316.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,216 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Southern were worth $927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 205 shares during the period. CNB Bank grew its stake in Southern by 1,021.4% in the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $77.63 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $70.78 and its 200 day moving average is $69.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $77.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SO. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Scotiabank cut their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.71.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,126 shares of company stock valued at $1,364,115 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

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.