KPP Advisory Services LLC Trims Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

KPP Advisory Services LLC trimmed its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 185 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in Southern by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.8% in the third quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 5.8% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.5% during the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Southern by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of SO traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $87.93. The company had a trading volume of 4,464,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,443,138. The stock has a market cap of $96.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $89.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.23. 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 Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

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 approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Wolfe Research downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim raised their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.27.

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.