Axecap Investments LLC Invests $213,000 in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

by · The Markets Daily

Axecap Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO – Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 63.2% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Southern by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 1.1 %

SO stock opened at $94.15 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $102.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.33, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.20. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.18.

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Barclays upped their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.07.

Read Our Latest Report on SO

Insider Activity at Southern

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 approximately $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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