Marietta Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Marietta Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 28.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,763 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,946 shares during the period. Marietta Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank boosted its stake in Southern by 1,021.4% during the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on SO. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.07.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $706,526.04. Following the sale, the insider now owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,007,222.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,998 shares of company stock worth $1,446,113 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $68.03. 1,436,918 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,568,936. 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 stock has a market cap of $74.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s fifty day moving average is $68.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.95. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $75.80.

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. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.14%.

Southern 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.