The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments trimmed its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,879 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,652 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Southern were worth $693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 3.1% during the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southern by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its holdings in Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank grew its stake in Southern by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. CNB Bank now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $75.85 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $70.39 and a 200-day moving average of $69.64. The company has a market cap of $83.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.98.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.11%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, 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 transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,025 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,402 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. UBS Group downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.71.

About Southern

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.