The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stake Decreased by Successful Portfolios LLC

Successful Portfolios LLC trimmed its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 624 shares during the quarter. Successful Portfolios LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 62.0% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew 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. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.6 %

SO stock opened at $77.57 on Monday. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $80.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $84.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50 day moving average of $77.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.27.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.14.

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.