Allstate Corp Raises Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Allstate Corp boosted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,609 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Southern were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 30.4% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 62.5% during the 3rd 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. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO traded up $0.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $77.68. 700,879 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,758,282. 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 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $80.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.22 and a 200-day moving average of $70.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 74.42%.

Southern 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.