The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Bought by Brookstone Capital Management

Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 18.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 79,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,247 shares during the quarter. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC raised its stake in Southern by 3.0% in the first quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 19,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after buying an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 8,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 4.6% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 6,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 53.0% in the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 2,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gleason Group Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 1.0% during the first quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 16,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $78.20 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $77.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.14. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $80.84. The company has a market cap of $85.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays raised their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.