Daymark Wealth Partners LLC Purchases 2,901 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,901 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,298,000. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at $3,766,000. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.8% in the second quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 55,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,312,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in Southern by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 208,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,212,000 after buying an additional 78,373 shares during the period. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 40,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,144,000 after buying an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,845 shares of company stock worth $2,266,455. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $88.93 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 company has a market cap of $97.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $86.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.32. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $90.85.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on 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, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.60.

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.