SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prudential PLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 19,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 3,689 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in Southern by 33.5% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 63.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,621,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Southern by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 907,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,776,000 after purchasing an additional 239,325 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Citigroup started coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, December 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Southern from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.46.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $71.74. 4,731,174 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,607,858. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.85. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $75.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $78.26 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,007,222.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $706,526.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,007,222.36. 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. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.