45,000 Shares in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Acquired by CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT bought a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 45,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,058,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Southern by 63.2% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Southern by 31.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 34.7% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.07.

Southern Trading Up 0.1 %

Southern stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $92.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,092,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,418,295. The Southern Company has a one year low of $64.53 and a one year high of $93.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $88.92 and a 200-day moving average of $81.95. The stock has a market cap of $101.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Southern 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.