First Business Financial Services Inc. Takes Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

First Business Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,490 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $617,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 244.4% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $2.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $91.54. The stock had a trading volume of 6,727,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,285,584. The stock has a market cap of $100.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $85.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67. The Southern Company has a one year low of $67.53 and a one year high of $94.45.

Remove Ads

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The company had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.90 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Southern's payout ratio is 71.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on SO. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim lowered Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.54.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. This represents a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.