Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,293 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,293 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for approximately 0.7% of Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in Southern by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Southern during the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Southern stock traded down $1.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $81.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,560,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,578,034. The company has a market cap of $89.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $85.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.00. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.14.

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.