GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Buys 217 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth $225,000. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 17,924 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,616,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 9.0% during the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 6,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in Southern by 18.5% in the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 251,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,707,000 after acquiring an additional 39,300 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 29.7% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 101,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,172,000 after acquiring an additional 23,266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SO. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.07.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 1.8 %

SO stock opened at $91.88 on Monday. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $100.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.52. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $89.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.60.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Southern’s payout ratio is 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.