Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC Invests $256,000 in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Southern by 62.0% in 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 during the period. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE SO opened at $88.27 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $96.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $64.53 and a 12 month high of $91.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $88.30 and a 200-day moving average of $80.79.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 68.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.27.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.