Apella Capital LLC Buys 7,980 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Apella Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 43.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,980 shares during the quarter. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.26.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $95.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $108.06 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.34. 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 twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.30.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

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.