Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC Has $799,000 Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 79.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,301 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,565 shares during the quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 11,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $785,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $233,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $219,000. SCP Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $548,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Southern by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,978,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $138,760,000 after acquiring an additional 18,841 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on SO. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Southern news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at $6,620,831.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,845 shares of company stock valued at $2,266,455 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of SO stock opened at $89.44 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $85.14 and a 200-day moving average of $78.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $97.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.11, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $90.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

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.