Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 252,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,800 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $22,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 120.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.69.

Southern Trading Up 0.1%

SO opened at $94.56 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $95.65 and its 200-day moving average is $92.20. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is 75.32%.

About Southern

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.