Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Has $834,000 Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 179.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,560 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,139 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 2,691 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $92.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.80. The stock has a market cap of $104.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.36.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.85.

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.