Rahlfs Capital LLC Invests $2.49 Million in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Rahlfs Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 30,295 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,494,000. Southern accounts for approximately 2.3% of Rahlfs Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Southern by 84.9% during the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 244.4% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock traded up $1.39 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $89.19. 2,939,482 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,557,480. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $88.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $67.53 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45.

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Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The company had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.90 billion. Analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. This represents a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SO. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho upped their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim lowered shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.