The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 267,369 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 45,936 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $24,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vista Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its position 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 raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.8% during 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 lifted its stake in Southern by 1.4% in the second quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,048 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $702,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Southern by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $87.71. 4,171,547 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,453,261. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The stock's 50-day moving average is $89.97 and its 200 day moving average is $83.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $96.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company posted $1.42 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern's payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their target price 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho downgraded Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.27.

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.