Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. Purchases 138 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $400,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Southern by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,845 shares of company stock valued at $2,266,455 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $89.70 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $98.08 billion, a PE ratio of 23.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $90.34. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $86.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.88.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.33.

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.