Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Purchases New Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 26,184 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,361,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.8% during the third 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 period. Abel Hall LLC grew its position in Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Southern by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Southern by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $83.20. 2,549,292 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,409,069. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $88.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 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 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SO. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho downgraded shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.14.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Southern

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.