LVW Advisors LLC Has $1.52 Million Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

LVW Advisors LLC boosted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 12.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,889 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $6,011,000. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC grew its holdings in Southern by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 11,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $825,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $213,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,067,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of SO traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $88.88. The company had a trading volume of 680,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,452,649. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $88.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.79. The company has a market capitalization of $97.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $64.53 and a 52 week high of $91.86. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.57%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.27.

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.