Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Has $1.67 Million Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,779 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SO. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Southern by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 66,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,256 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 44.3% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 5,108 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Significant Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $232,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on SO. 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 research note on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays increased their target price on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America increased their target price on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.36.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 90 days, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded up $0.21 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $73.46. The stock had a trading volume of 1,573,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,650,460. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $69.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $75.80. The firm has a market cap of $80.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 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 firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.13%.

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.