AJOVista LLC Acquires New Shares in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

AJOVista LLC bought a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $55,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1,021.4% in the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.6 %

Southern stock opened at $75.42 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $70.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.68. The stock has a market cap of $82.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a P/E/G ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. Southern’s payout ratio is 72.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America boosted 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,025 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,402. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.