The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Bought by Woodstock Corp

Woodstock Corp grew its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,090 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $435,979,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $369,131,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in Southern by 586.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 5,564,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $387,157,000 after acquiring an additional 4,753,465 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Southern by 162.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,572,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $457,306,000 after acquiring an additional 4,067,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 150.3% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,617,965 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $390,896,000 after acquiring an additional 3,373,118 shares during the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

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

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $71.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,061,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,040,764. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $58.85 and a twelve month high of $78.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $69.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.95.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.05. Southern had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 9.86%. The firm had revenue of $5.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.07 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 98.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SO. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Southern from $79.00 to $77.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, June 8th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 6th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Saturday, August 19th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.13.

About Southern

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.