Principle Wealth Partners LLC Has $6.46 Million Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,736 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $1,945,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $301,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $3,795,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,478,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,829,927. The stock has a market cap of $80.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $75.80.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The company’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. UBS Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.36.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following 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 through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587. 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.