Orca Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Orca Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,478 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $369,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $468,000. Ascent Group LLC raised its position in Southern by 15.3% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 3,386 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Southern by 8.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 184,216 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,290,000 after purchasing an additional 14,399 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Southern by 4.4% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,841 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the period. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $297,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Down 0.8 %

SO stock traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $82.88. The stock had a trading volume of 5,771,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,228,738. The firm has a market cap of $90.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. 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 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company's 50-day moving average price is $84.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.57.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion during 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%. Southern's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $90.14.

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.