The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Purchased by Gleason Group Inc.

Gleason Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up about 0.3% of Gleason Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Gleason Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Karp Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth about $40,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. EWG Elevate Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Southern by 1,944.4% during the 3rd quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.78% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:SO opened at $67.90 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $58.85 and a 1 year high of $80.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. Southern had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 17th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. Southern’s payout ratio is 82.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Southern from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Southern to $80.00 in a report on Monday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.93.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 852 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.31, for a total value of $57,348.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,484,791.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 852 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.31, for a total transaction of $57,348.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,484,791.29. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 14,546 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.95, for a total value of $1,032,038.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 120,786 shares in the company, valued at $8,569,766.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,680 shares of company stock valued at $1,174,768 in the last quarter. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Company Profile

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The Southern Co is a holding company, which engages in the generation and sale of electricity. It operates through the following segments: Traditional Electric Operating Companies, Southern Power and Southern Company Gas. The Traditional Electric Operating Companies segment refers to vertically integrated utilities that own generation, transmission and distribution facilities, and supplies electric services in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi.