Courier Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Courier Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 35,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the quarter. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $435,979,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $369,131,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,547,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $488,461,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096,988 shares in the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 5,840.2% during the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,949,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $194,939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,906,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,518,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838,857 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,007,222.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of Southern stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 28,691 shares in the company, valued at $2,007,222.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,806,063 over the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Southern from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. Barclays dropped their price target on Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, December 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.46.

Southern Trading Up 1.6 %

SO traded up $1.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $70.41. 933,634 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,548,244. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $68.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.82. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $75.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.14%.

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.