AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southern Co (NYSE:SO) by 115.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,260 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Heritage Way Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,680,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $591,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 295,704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,544,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Advantage Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $113,000. Finally, Wills Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Wills Financial Group Inc. now owns 49,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,427,000 after buying an additional 3,036 shares during the last quarter. 53.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Southern Co (SO) opened at 47.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $46.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62 and a beta of 0.12. Southern Co has a one year low of $46.20 and a one year high of $54.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $49.52 and a 200 day moving average of $49.58.
Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Southern had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 10.59%. The company’s revenue was up 44.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Southern Co will post $2.96 EPS for the current year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 21st will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 85.29%.
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Group LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 28th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $49.50 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 30th. Finally, Barclays PLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.50.
In other news, insider Ann P. Daiss sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.28, for a total value of $256,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,164.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Lantrip sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $1,287,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,080 shares in the company, valued at $1,600,620. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 145,549 shares of company stock worth $7,395,190 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.
Southern Company Profile
The Southern Company (Southern Company) is a holding company. The Company owns all of the stock of the traditional electric operating companies and the parent entities of Southern Power Company (Southern Power) and Southern Company Gas, and owns other direct and indirect subsidiaries. The Company’s segments include Gas distribution operations, Gas marketing services, Wholesale gas services, Gas midstream operations and All other.
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