Cetera Investment Advisers Purchases 330,302 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 161.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 534,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 330,302 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Southern were worth $38,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Second Line Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 8,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in Southern by 3.7% in the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 145,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,428,000 after acquiring an additional 5,163 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth $81,000. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.2% during the first quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 7,380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $88.58. 7,196,642 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,794,487. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market cap of $96.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s fifty day moving average is $79.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.02. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $89.24.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 17.67%. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their price target on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.33.

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.