MSH Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

MSH Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 20,251 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,667,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,381,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 895 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 6,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co increased its position in shares of Southern by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 671 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:SO traded up $1.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $91.69. 3,461,959 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,528,453. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $70.70 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.33.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.82%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the firm'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 directly owns 13,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,138,296. This trade represents a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of Southern 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim cut Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.00.

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.