The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stake Cut by Rockland Trust Co.

Rockland Trust Co. decreased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 133,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,472 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $12,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. 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. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO opened at $90.70 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $62.26 and a 1 year high of $91.86. The business’s fifty day moving average is $87.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.52. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. Southern’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.42%.

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.