MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC Sells 1,180 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,180 shares during the period. Southern accounts for about 0.9% of MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its stake in Southern by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 9,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 16,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,302,000 after buying an additional 952 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of Southern by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 7,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grandview Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $246,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,148,284.90. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,946,985.28. The trade was a 23.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.07.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock opened at $85.58 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $90.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.23. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $76.64 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The firm has a market cap of $94.06 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern’s payout ratio is 70.64%.

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.