Element Wealth LLC Buys 345 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Element Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,485 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the quarter. Element Wealth LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in Southern by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 79,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,697,000 after acquiring an additional 12,247 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Southern by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 323,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,193,000 after purchasing an additional 13,728 shares during the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in Southern by 11.9% in the first quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 5,465 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 358.5% during the 1st quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 26,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,916,000 after purchasing an additional 20,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 393,082 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,200,000 after acquiring an additional 9,481 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $93.61 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.20. The firm has a market cap of $102.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 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 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. Southern’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 business earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.07.

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.