Home Federal Bank of Tennessee Acquires 1,000 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Home Federal Bank of Tennessee boosted its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee’s holdings in Southern were worth $901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. West Branch Capital LLC increased its position in Southern by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 63.2% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Southern by 31.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.4 %

SO stock traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $92.36. The company had a trading volume of 384,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,414,823. The stock has a market cap of $100.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $64.53 and a 52 week high of $93.73. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $88.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.95.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Southern’s payout ratio is 68.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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 objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.07.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826. 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.