Lantz Financial LLC Has $2.80 Million Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Lantz Financial LLC lowered its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 446 shares during the period. Southern makes up approximately 1.1% of Lantz Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Lantz Financial LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 48.7% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $76,000. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1,073.3% during the 1st quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CI Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 110.4% in the 4th quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 2,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.62, for a total value of $1,452,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,164,616.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 20,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.62, for a total transaction of $1,452,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,164,616.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total transaction of $348,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,801,994.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,490 shares of company stock worth $2,934,355. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $70.75 on Tuesday. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $58.85 and a 52 week high of $78.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.07, a PEG ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $69.42 and its 200-day moving average is $70.10.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.47 billion. Southern had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 9.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 21st were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 98.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Southern in a report on Saturday, August 19th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Southern from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised Southern from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $67.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.13.

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.