CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Purchases New Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT purchased a new position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 45,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,058,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Southern by 31.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 34.7% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. 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 accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was 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 owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank raised their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.07.

Southern Stock Up 0.4 %

Southern stock traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $93.08. The stock had a trading volume of 2,425,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,427,747. The business's 50 day moving average price is $88.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.95. 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 Southern Company has a 52 week low of $64.53 and a 52 week high of $93.73. The company has a market cap of $101.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business 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 company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 68.57%.

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.