The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Powers Advisory Group LLC

Powers Advisory Group LLC decreased its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 261 shares during the period. Powers Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Bank of America upped their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.14.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:SO traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $77.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,432,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,629,153. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $80.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.39.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 74.42%.

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.