The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Gentry Private Wealth LLC

Gentry Private Wealth LLC trimmed its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 176 shares during the quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southern by 168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 34.7% in the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 31.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on SO shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.47.

Southern Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:SO opened at $87.60 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The firm has a market cap of $95.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.52. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $89.73 and its 200-day moving average is $84.74.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

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.