waypoint wealth counsel Takes $212,000 Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

waypoint wealth counsel purchased a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,355 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 131,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,205,000 after acquiring an additional 2,804 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Southern by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 27,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,938,000 after buying an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in shares of Southern by 3,007.3% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 162,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,386,000 after buying an additional 157,159 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,487,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $174,390,000 after acquiring an additional 6,223 shares during the period. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $292,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.27.

Southern Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:SO traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $90.31. The company had a trading volume of 3,432,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,608,267. 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 Southern Company has a 52 week low of $62.26 and a 52 week high of $91.86. The company has a market capitalization of $98.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $87.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.34.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company 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.