The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Bought by Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc.

Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 125,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,414 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for about 1.7% of Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $11,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 934,447 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $585,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $1,547,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.07.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.0 %

SO stock opened at $90.74 on Wednesday. The Southern Company has a one year low of $64.53 and a one year high of $91.86. The firm has a market cap of $99.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.60, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $88.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.33. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.57%.

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.