Raleigh Capital Management Inc. Has $3.07 Million Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 10.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,302 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up approximately 1.5% of Raleigh Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at about $932,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Southern by 150.3% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,617,965 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $390,896,000 after buying an additional 3,373,118 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. grew its position in Southern by 7.8% during the first quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 58,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,095,000 after buying an additional 4,259 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Southern by 30.8% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 71,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,956,000 after buying an additional 16,777 shares during the period. Finally, Wagner Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Southern by 15.2% during the first quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 1,088 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $69.10 on Wednesday. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $58.85 and a 12-month high of $79.74. The company has a market cap of $75.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $69.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.94.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. Southern had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 9.86%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 21st were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.94%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.58, for a total value of $352,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 131,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,024.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,490 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total transaction of $99,904.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,878,289.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.58, for a total transaction of $352,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 131,284 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,024.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,490 shares of company stock valued at $2,934,355 over the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on SO. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, August 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Saturday, August 19th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 8th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.44.

Southern Company Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through three segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, and Gas Marketing Services. 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.