Naviter Wealth LLC Has $1.42 Million Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Naviter Wealth LLC raised its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 27.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 20,259 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,400 shares during the quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $1,945,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its position in Southern by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Southern by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth $301,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $3,795,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Down 0.9 %

SO opened at $73.69 on Tuesday. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.49. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the completion of 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank cut their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. BMO Capital Markets reissued 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. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.36.

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.