Garner Asset Management Corp Buys 1,002 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Garner Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Garner Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Southern were worth $758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 11,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $785,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $219,000. SCP Investment LP bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $548,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 36,499 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,559,000 after buying an additional 5,018 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $89.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $85.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.58. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $90.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.71.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,845 shares of company stock valued at $2,266,455 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.