Aldebaran Financial Inc. Has $268,000 Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Aldebaran Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 417 shares during the quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Southern by 62.0% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of SO opened at $90.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $90.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $87.23 and a 200-day moving average of $79.81.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.42%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,845 shares of company stock valued at $2,266,455. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.60.

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.