Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC Has $268,000 Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 7.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings 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. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 3,628.6% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.60.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $90.10 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $86.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $90.85. The stock has a market cap of $98.52 billion, a PE ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were given 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 3.20%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 74.42%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,845 shares of company stock worth $2,266,455. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.