HF Advisory Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

HF Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 18.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,063 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,512 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises about 1.4% of HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Welch Group LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 782,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $75,555,000 after acquiring an additional 3,531 shares during the last quarter. Columbus Macro LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 1.7% during the first quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 22,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,183,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 8.3% during the first quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Northeast Investment Management boosted its position in Southern by 24.0% during the first quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 8,821 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707 shares during the period. Finally, AA Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southern by 5.5% during the first quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.1%

SO stock opened at $97.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.33. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.35 billion, a PE ratio of 24.68, a PEG ratio of 2.90 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 (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore upgraded shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.26.

Southern Profile

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.