Redwood Park Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 1,020 The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $84,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Enhancement Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $326,000. Verity & Verity LLC increased its position in Southern by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,626,000 after buying an additional 5,434 shares during the period. Farmers Trust Co. increased its position in Southern by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 48,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,983,000 after buying an additional 11,605 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 237,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,556,000 after purchasing an additional 14,824 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 60.7% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 23,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 8,996 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,296. This trade represents a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $87.89 on Thursday. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $67.53 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.27. The company has a market capitalization of $96.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.39.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. Research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 71.82%.

Southern 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.