Fiduciary Group LLC Has $7.65 Million Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Fiduciary Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 109,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,152 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $7,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. CNB Bank boosted its position in Southern by 1,021.4% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.36.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.21. 5,478,762 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,829,927. 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 firm has a market cap of $80.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s fifty day moving average is $69.64 and its 200-day moving average is $69.38.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

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

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.