CWA Asset Management Group LLC Invests $19.52 Million in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 216,399 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $19,515,000. Southern comprises about 1.0% of CWA Asset Management Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Southern by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,721,382,000 after acquiring an additional 7,550,570 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Southern by 8,741.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,502,813 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $135,524,000 after buying an additional 1,485,816 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Southern by 2,719.7% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,670,000 after acquiring an additional 841,435 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 7,657.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 571,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,304,000 after acquiring an additional 563,785 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Southern by 35.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,929,980 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $138,457,000 after purchasing an additional 500,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on SO. Mizuho cut shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business'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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. 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, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was 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. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

Southern Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of SO stock traded up $1.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $88.64. 3,805,942 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,461,732. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.75. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The firm has a market cap of $97.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern's payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

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.