Procyon Advisors LLC Sells 354 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Procyon Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 354 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, December 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Southern from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.46.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock traded up $0.10 on Thursday, hitting $71.15. 530,959 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,535,230. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.80. The stock has a market cap of $77.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.40 and a 200 day moving average of $68.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,806,063. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.