Leavell Investment Management Inc. Raises Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 8.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 185,938 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,478 shares during the period. Southern comprises 0.8% of Leavell Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Leavell Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $16,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Southern by 63.2% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 31.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research cut shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.27.

Southern Price Performance

SO traded up $1.71 on Friday, reaching $88.64. The company had a trading volume of 3,800,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,461,732. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $97.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Southern's payout ratio is presently 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.