Harbour Investments Inc. Buys 56,443 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 224.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 81,549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 56,443 shares during the quarter. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $7,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the third quarter worth $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 120.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $94.20 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $94.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.81. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $106.19 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seaport Research Partners cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was 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 owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company 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.