The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stake Reduced by Graypoint LLC

Graypoint LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 673 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its position in Southern by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.8% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Mizuho downgraded 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 2.1 %

SO stock opened at $81.25 on Friday. 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 $89.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.07.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

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.