The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Bought by Wills Financial Group Inc.

Wills Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 27.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,365 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,347 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises 1.4% of Wills Financial Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Wills Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $3,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Enhancement Group LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $326,000. Verity & Verity LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,626,000 after buying an additional 5,434 shares in the last quarter. Farmers Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 48,383 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,983,000 after buying an additional 11,605 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Southern by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 237,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,556,000 after acquiring an additional 14,824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 60.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 23,813 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,147,000 after acquiring an additional 8,996 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $90.77. 2,332,153 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,470,757. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.39. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $89.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.35. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $73.20 and a 52-week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.54.

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.