The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Bought by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,366,058 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,726 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned 0.12% of Southern worth $123,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 63.2% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Southern by 31.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 34.7% in the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Southern by 120.1% during the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 678 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SO. Mizuho lowered Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.27.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $87.03. 1,403,285 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,439,410. The firm has a market cap of $95.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $89.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.09. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for 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%. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

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.