NBW Capital LLC Lowers Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

NBW Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 359 shares during the quarter. NBW Capital LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 62.0% during 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 last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 3,628.6% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of SO opened at $89.73 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $98.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $86.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.25. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $90.85.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,845 shares of company stock worth $2,266,455 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.33.

Southern Company 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.