The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Graypoint LLC

Graypoint LLC trimmed its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 9.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 627 shares during the quarter. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Architects LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $229,000. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $813,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 80,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,222,000 after buying an additional 2,930 shares in the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $424,000. Finally, Leslie Global Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at $422,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Southern news, 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 transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 2.0 %

Southern stock opened at $88.64 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $89.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.75. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $97.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.27.

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.