Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC lowered its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,878 shares during the quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $89.70 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $98.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $86.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.95. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $90.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 27,845 shares of company stock valued at $2,266,455. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.