Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 9,018 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $813,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vista Capital Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC grew 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. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the second quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,048 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 0.9% during the second quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $86.93. The stock had a trading volume of 4,535,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,464,765. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $89.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.62. 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 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.27.

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.