Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Boosts Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.8% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in Southern by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $83.91 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $91.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Insider Activity at Southern

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.14.

Southern Company 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.