Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Purchases Shares of 900 The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $65,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $631,068,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Southern by 53.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,444,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,153,065,000 after purchasing an additional 5,707,845 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,547,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $488,461,000 after buying an additional 2,096,988 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth $128,413,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 6,303.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,199,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,112,000 after buying an additional 1,180,812 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $79.24. 853,260 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,673,636. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $80.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $76.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $86.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Argus raised their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Southern from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.36.

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.