Curran Financial Partners LLC Cuts Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Curran Financial Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 166 shares during the quarter. Curran Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted 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. Red Door Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 0.9% during the second quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 2.1% during the second quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $493,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 6,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.07.

Southern Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $92.27 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.41. The company has a market cap of $100.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $64.53 and a 12 month high of $92.46. 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 earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.