Mather Group LLC. Boosts Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Southern by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Southern by 3,628.6% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,280 shares of company stock valued at $1,678,625 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of SO traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $86.44. 4,332,821 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,524,125. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $89.68. The company has a market capitalization of $94.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $79.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 17.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. Argus lifted their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.33.

Southern Company Profile

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.