Farther Finance Advisors LLC Buys 2,385 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 22.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,385 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 3,628.6% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Southern by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.7 %

SO stock opened at $86.40 on Monday. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $89.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $94.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,280 shares of company stock worth $1,678,625 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on SO shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus boosted their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.71.

Southern Profile

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.