Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV Boosts Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 44.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 140,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,461 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises about 2.2% of Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Southern were worth $12,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 120.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Evercore raised Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.08.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $95.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $105.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.44. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The company’s fifty day moving average is $93.42 and its 200 day moving average is $91.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.