Mather Group LLC. Purchases 1,173 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Mather Group LLC. increased its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,173 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank grew its position in Southern by 1,021.4% in the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $74.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $75.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $69.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.