Tidal Investments LLC Has $2.15 Million Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 60.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 23,813 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 8,996 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $2,147,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in Southern by 34.7% in the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the third quarter worth about $49,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho cut shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.14.

Southern Stock Up 1.7 %

SO stock traded up $1.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $83.28. 5,468,902 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,414,695. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $88.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.65. The firm has a market cap of $91.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

Southern 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.