Austin Private Wealth LLC Acquires 441 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 100,089,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,180,430,000 after purchasing an additional 481,071 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Southern by 45.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,721,382,000 after purchasing an additional 7,550,570 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $631,068,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,089,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $426,993,000 after acquiring an additional 111,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Southern by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,457,000 after acquiring an additional 934,447 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock traded up $0.34 on Friday, reaching $86.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,974,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,522,636. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. 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 $94.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Southern from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Argus increased their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,280 shares of company stock worth $1,678,625 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.