Townsquare Capital LLC Grows Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 40.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 7,694 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $2,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 4.5% during the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 4.3% during the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $89.13. 2,363,970 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,098,644. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The stock has a market cap of $97.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $89.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.12.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho lowered Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.47.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.