ORG Partners LLC Purchases 172 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new position in Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Southern by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on SO. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,446,113. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $68.73 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $75.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The business’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.14%.

About Southern

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. 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.