Van ECK Associates Corp Trims Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 283,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,791 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Southern were worth $19,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank grew its stake in Southern by 1,021.4% during the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:SO opened at $74.49 on Thursday. 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 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $70.06 and a 200 day moving average of $69.54. The firm has a market cap of $81.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.48.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

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.