Nepsis Inc. Has $4.44 Million Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Nepsis Inc. grew its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 19.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,180 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,925 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises approximately 1.1% of Nepsis Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Nepsis Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $4,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 3,628.6% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 63.2% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was 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 directly owns 145,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SO traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $93.24. The stock had a trading volume of 3,663,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,440,846. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $88.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.71. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $64.53 and a 12 month high of $93.35. The company has a market cap of $101.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Southern's revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Southern's payout ratio is 74.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Mizuho cut shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective 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, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $89.07.

Southern 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.