IFG Advisory LLC Grows Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

IFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,436 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on SO. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, December 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total transaction of $359,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 101,284 shares in the company, valued at $7,291,435.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,806,063. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $71.06 on Thursday. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $68.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.83. 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 market cap of $77.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

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.