23,550 Shares in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Purchased by Tyche Wealth Partners LLC

Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 23,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,651,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth about $43,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $706,526.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,446,113. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE SO traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.76. The stock had a trading volume of 4,426,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,610,187. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80. The stock has a market cap of $74.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $68.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.95.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on SO shares. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.07.

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.