Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,454 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Southern by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $77.57. The company had a trading volume of 6,226,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,873,369. The firm has a market cap of $84.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $80.84. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $77.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus lifted their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.14.

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.