Schnieders Capital Management LLC Has $4.98 Million Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Schnieders Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Southern accounts for approximately 1.0% of Schnieders Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Schnieders Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Southern by 84.9% during the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 244.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $88.72 on Thursday. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.99 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.87. The firm has a market cap of $97.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. Equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 71.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Guggenheim cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. This represents a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.