The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Carnegie Investment Counsel cut its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,252 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 778 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Southern were worth $950,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. MBE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 6.3% during the second quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 49,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,807,000 after buying an additional 2,919 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.3% during the second quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,259 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,437,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,280 shares of company stock valued at $1,678,625 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SO. Barclays lifted their price target on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Argus lifted their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.64.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $87.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 554,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,438,911. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $89.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $81.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.58.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.42%.

Southern Company 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.