Ascent Group LLC Acquires 449 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $263,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $468,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group boosted its position in shares of Southern by 40.6% in the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 5,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Southern by 7.8% in the second quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern in the second quarter worth $1,031,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Southern by 1.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,475,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $114,445,000 after purchasing an additional 15,076 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $90.88 on Wednesday. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $91.77. The firm has a market cap of $99.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.52. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $87.42 and a 200-day moving average of $79.96.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank raised their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays raised their target price on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,845 shares of company stock valued at $1,335,135. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.