Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Increases Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Southern were worth $293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Southern by 18.2% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 79,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,697,000 after buying an additional 12,247 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 55,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,201 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 323,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,193,000 after purchasing an additional 13,728 shares during the last quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 2.1% during the first quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO grew its position in shares of Southern by 31.7% in the 1st quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on SO shares. 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 target price on the stock. Mizuho cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.07.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $94.15 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $89.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $102.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.33, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.18.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business 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 company’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.