Breakwater Capital Group Acquires 905 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Breakwater Capital Group increased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 20.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the period. Breakwater Capital Group’s holdings in Southern were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock traded down $0.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.60. 246,919 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,518,862. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $75.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $68.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.92.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Southern news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 28,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,806,063 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday. Citigroup began coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, December 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho upped their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their target price on Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.14.

About Southern

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.