The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Austin Private Wealth LLC

Austin Private Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 425 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,945,000. Bollard Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.0% in the second quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 431,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,313,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082 shares during the last quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 200.9% in the third quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 76,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,933,000 after acquiring an additional 50,897 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $301,000. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Southern by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,712,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total transaction of $359,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 101,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,291,435.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $706,526.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,998 shares of company stock worth $1,806,063 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, December 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Southern from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.46.

Southern Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Southern stock traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $71.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,731,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,607,858. 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 company has a market capitalization of $78.26 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a fifty day moving average of $68.43 and a 200 day moving average of $68.85. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.80.

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 return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

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.