Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Increases Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 8.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 184,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,399 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $14,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the transaction, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,845 shares of company stock valued at $1,335,135. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SO. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho cut 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, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.60.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $90.88 on Wednesday. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $91.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $87.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.96. The stock has a market cap of $99.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

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.