Global Retirement Partners LLC Buys 1,332 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in Southern by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $660,000. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 110,536 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,968,000 after buying an additional 1,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its stake in Southern by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 6,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:SO opened at $87.78 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.99 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $83.50 and its 200 day moving average is $86.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

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.