Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Shares Bought by BerganKDV Wealth Management LLC

BerganKDV Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 0.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1 shares during the period. BerganKDV Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern Company (The) were worth $361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) by 10.8% in the first quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Symmetry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) during the first quarter valued at $103,000. Feltz Wealth PLAN Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) during the first quarter valued at $108,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Southern Company (The) by 358.8% in the first quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 2,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 1,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advantage Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern Company (The) during the fourth quarter worth $113,000. 53.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of Southern Company (SO) traded down 0.65% during midday trading on Friday, hitting $47.51. 4,263,378 shares of the company’s stock traded hands. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.74 and a 200 day moving average of $49.48. The stock has a market cap of $47.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77 and a beta of 0.12. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $46.20 and a 52 week high of $53.80.

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 Company (The) had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 12.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 44.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post $2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 17th. Southern Company (The)’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.29%.

A number of analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Jefferies Group LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective (down previously from $56.00) on shares of Southern Company (The) in a report on Thursday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank AG cut their price objective on shares of Southern Company (The) from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. BidaskClub raised shares of Southern Company (The) from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. Barclays PLC reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $56.00 target price (up from $53.00) on shares of Southern Company (The) in a report on Sunday, April 23rd. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $49.50 target price on shares of Southern Company (The) in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Southern Company (The) presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.35.

In related news, CEO Mark Lantrip sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was 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 owns 31,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,600,620. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP James Y. Kerr II sold 68,609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $3,433,880.45. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 69,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,930.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 145,549 shares of company stock valued at $7,395,190 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company (The) 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.