AlphaCore Capital LLC Raises Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 119.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,842 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in Southern by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 486,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,392,000 after acquiring an additional 32,221 shares in the last quarter. Richard Young Associates Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $287,000. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 69.7% in the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 254,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,196,000 after buying an additional 104,570 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 77.8% in the fourth quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 20,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,810,000 after buying an additional 9,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 13,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 2,488 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of SO stock opened at $92.56 on Friday. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $104.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.80.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

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.