The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Financial Advocates Investment Management

Financial Advocates Investment Management cut its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 8.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 978 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Southern were worth $934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Southern by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 100,089,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,180,430,000 after purchasing an additional 481,071 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 45.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,721,382,000 after buying an additional 7,550,570 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Southern by 5.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,718,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $245,113,000 after purchasing an additional 145,810 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 2.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,542,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $197,192,000 after purchasing an additional 51,751 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Southern by 14.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,380,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $184,694,000 after buying an additional 297,012 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $88.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.15. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors 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 yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.57%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on SO. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.