Wrapmanager Inc. Has $218,000 Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Wrapmanager Inc. cut its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 40.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,655 shares during the quarter. Wrapmanager Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $576,000. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Southern by 149.5% in the 2nd quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. now owns 16,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after buying an additional 9,726 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Southern by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,245,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $292,679,000 after buying an additional 15,300 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 219.4% in the third quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 6,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at $455,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $88.28 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $89.79 and its 200-day moving average is $84.55. The firm has a market cap of $96.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.