Nova R Wealth Inc. Invests $202,000 in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Nova R Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $379,000. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC raised its position in Southern by 1.9% during the second quarter. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC now owns 8,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. raised its position in Southern by 49.1% during the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 3,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 1,244 shares during the period. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV purchased a new stake in Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Southern by 0.9% during the second quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock traded up $0.36 on Friday, hitting $87.37. 3,754,353 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,480,143. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $81.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.25. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $89.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,280 shares of company stock valued at $1,678,625. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America increased their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.00.

About Southern

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.