Concord Wealth Partners Boosts Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 26.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,109 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,855 shares during the quarter. Concord Wealth Partners' holdings in Southern were worth $3,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. now owns 18,342 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 2.4% in the third quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $937,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Forbes J M & Co. LLP bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $223,000. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 107.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 1,486 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the period. Finally, FCG Investment Co increased its stake in shares of Southern by 123.6% in the 3rd quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 26,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,427,000 after acquiring an additional 14,875 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock traded down $0.09 on Monday, reaching $91.79. The stock had a trading volume of 2,773,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,403,814. The business's 50 day moving average is $89.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $100.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research lowered Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim increased their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.07.

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.