Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Boosts Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. lifted its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 31.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,059 shares during the quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 0.7% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 66,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,703,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the period. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 110.8% during the second quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 957 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 1.1% during the second quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 89,192 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,266,000 after buying an additional 942 shares during the period. American National Bank boosted its stake in Southern by 100.5% during the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 3,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, First Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Southern by 22.4% during the second quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 57,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,009,000 after buying an additional 10,445 shares during the period. 62.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 131,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,024.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,164,616.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 131,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,024.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,490 shares of company stock worth $2,934,355. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Saturday, August 19th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.13.

Southern Stock Down 0.1 %

Southern stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $70.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,288,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,052,680. The company has a market cap of $77.30 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $69.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.10. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $58.85 and a 52 week high of $78.22.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.75 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue was down 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 21st were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 98.94%.

Southern 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.