D.A. Davidson & CO. Grows Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 63.9% in the fourth 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. Atticus Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 30.4% in the third quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 62.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $78.69 on Thursday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $73.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.67. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $80.14. The company has a market cap of $86.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.48.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.73.

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.