Vest Financial LLC Boosts Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 198.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,211 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.2% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 31.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC lifted its position in Southern by 34.7% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of SO stock opened at $92.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.95. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $64.53 and a 52-week high of $93.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.39 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 3.34 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.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Southern’s payout ratio is 68.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America raised their target price on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.07.

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.