Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Has $1.53 Million Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,700 shares during the quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vectors Research Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC now owns 24,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,239,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 11,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $234,000. Sargent Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $222,000. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 37.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 5,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Trading Down 0.3 %

SO stock opened at $86.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $94.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45. 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 moving average of $89.91 and a 200-day moving average of $84.12.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays raised their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.27.

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.