IFG Advisory LLC Purchases 1,436 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

IFG Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 87,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,436 shares during the quarter. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Southern by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. STAR Financial Bank raised its stake in Southern by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. STAR Financial Bank now owns 6,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. now owns 4,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 38,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,757,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Southern from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, December 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.46.

Southern Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $71.06 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 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 Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $68.40 and its 200-day moving average is $68.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total value of $359,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 101,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,291,435.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction 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 stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 10th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 worth $1,806,063. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.