Graypoint LLC Acquires 237 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Graypoint LLC grew its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the quarter. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $1,945,000. Cullinan Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 200.9% in the third quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 76,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,933,000 after buying an additional 50,897 shares during the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,045,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apella Capital LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $301,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 1.2 %

SO opened at $68.73 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $75.80. The firm has a market cap of $75.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,446,113 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by 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.