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

Fiduciary Group LLC lowered its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,265 shares during the period. Southern accounts for 0.9% of Fiduciary Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $8,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 3,628.6% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America raised their target price on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,845 shares of company stock worth $2,266,455 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.1 %

SO stock opened at $89.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $97.80 billion, a PE ratio of 23.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $90.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.03.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Southern’s payout ratio 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.