Concord Asset Management LLC VA Has $3.04 Million Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 30.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,681 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,922 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA's holdings in Southern were worth $3,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SO. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 63.2% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Southern by 31.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern 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 transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.27.

Southern Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE SO traded up $1.15 on Friday, reaching $87.93. The company had a trading volume of 4,464,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,426,315. The company's fifty day moving average is $89.85 and its 200-day moving average is $84.30. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern's payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

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.