The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Lathrop Investment Management Corp

Lathrop Investment Management Corp lessened its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 392 shares during the quarter. Lathrop Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Southern were worth $483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Southern by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 43,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,071,000 after buying an additional 687 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 78.0% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in Southern by 62.4% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 15,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 5,817 shares in the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 295.2% during the fourth quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 14,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of SO traded down $1.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $73.21. 5,478,762 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,829,927. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $75.80. The stock has a market cap of $80.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on SO. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

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.