AJOVista LLC Makes New Investment in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

AJOVista LLC bought a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $55,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank boosted 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 worth $41,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,025 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,402. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on SO. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.71.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $75.42 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $70.39 and its 200 day moving average is $69.68. The firm has a market cap of $82.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.92. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $75.98.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

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

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.