Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Acquires Shares of 3,127 The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank boosted its position in shares of Southern by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. CNB Bank now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded down $1.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $73.20. The company had a trading volume of 5,478,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,730,311. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $75.80. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.36.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on SO. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

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.