Ellsworth Advisors LLC Acquires 1,209 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Southern accounts for about 1.5% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,399,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. STAR Financial Bank grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. STAR Financial Bank now owns 6,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. now owns 4,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 38,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,757,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,806,063 in the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, December 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.46.

Southern Stock Up 1.0 %

SO traded up $0.69 during trading on Friday, hitting $71.74. 4,731,193 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,381,521. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.85. 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 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $75.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The company’s revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. Analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.14%.

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.