Allen Capital Group LLC Purchases 3,059 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Allen Capital Group LLC raised its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SOFree Report) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,059 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Enhancement Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 5.4% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,772,000 after buying an additional 5,589 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,626,000 after acquiring an additional 5,434 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 94.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,033,000 after acquiring an additional 140,151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $84.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $92.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The company’s fifty day moving average is $84.15 and its 200 day moving average is $86.57.

Southern (NYSE:SOGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.14.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on SO

Southern Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Southern (NYSE:SO)

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