The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc.

McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,495 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, December 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.46.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,007,222.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,998 shares of company stock worth $1,806,063. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $71.74. 4,731,174 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,607,858. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $75.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.14%.

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.