The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 932,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,031 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.09% of Southern worth $65,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 30,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,126,000 after acquiring an additional 2,308 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 178,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,554,000 after purchasing an additional 8,620 shares during the last quarter. Shelton Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 47,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,362,000 after purchasing an additional 4,782 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 338.6% in the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 22,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 17,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 43,649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,066,000 after purchasing an additional 1,467 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.39, for a total transaction of $693,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,990,868.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total value of $341,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,610,712.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.39, for a total value of $693,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,990,868.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,490 shares of company stock valued at $2,146,405. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. StockNews.com raised Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 3rd. Guggenheim cut their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Bank of America raised Southern from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $67.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. Scotiabank downgraded Southern from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Southern from $69.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Southern Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of SO stock traded up $0.20 on Friday, reaching $69.77. 4,594,500 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,771,303. The company has a market capitalization of $76.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.55. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $58.85 and a 12-month high of $75.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.84. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $67.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.43.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 17th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. Southern’s payout ratio is 101.08%.

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.