Advocate Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Advocate Group LLC lifted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 94,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 264 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises approximately 1.5% of Advocate Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $8,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanders Morris Harris LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at about $207,000. Patten Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 10.0% during the third quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 6,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of Southern by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 14,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after purchasing an additional 2,002 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Southern by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Southern by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 178,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,086,000 after purchasing an additional 9,481 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $89.17. The stock had a trading volume of 336,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,456,134. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $88.29 and its 200 day moving average is $80.74. 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 Southern Company has a twelve month low of $64.53 and a twelve month high of $91.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.52.

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. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.27.

Southern Company 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.