Park Avenue Securities LLC Raises Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 6,303.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,199,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180,812 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 23,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,676,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $454,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in Southern by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 157,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,033,000 after acquiring an additional 17,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,691 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $750,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $87.29. 5,028,668 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,527,498. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $89.68. 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’s 50 day moving average is $80.09 and its 200 day moving average is $74.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SO. Argus lifted their price target 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. Wolfe Research downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,280 shares of company stock worth $1,678,625 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.