Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Acquired by Capital Advisors Inc. OK

Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,000,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 49,402 shares during the period. Southern accounts for approximately 1.4% of Capital Advisors Inc. OK’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Capital Advisors Inc. OK’s holdings in Southern were worth $87,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 120.1% during the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $96.49 on Wednesday. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $93.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.90. The company has a market cap of $106.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.55, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.08.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.