Diversify Advisory Services LLC Buys 3,237 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 40.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,237 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MBA Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Legacy Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $434,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Southern by 278.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 3,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 2,592 shares during the last quarter. Brown Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $220,000. Finally, abrdn plc grew its position in Southern by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 424,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,328,000 after acquiring an additional 21,998 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on 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 seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.07.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock opened at $89.38 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $89.60 and its 200-day moving average is $82.95. 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 $97.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 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 the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 68.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. 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 this link. In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.