First Personal Financial Services Lowers Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

First Personal Financial Services decreased its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 54,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,831 shares during the quarter. First Personal Financial Services’ holdings in Southern were worth $4,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Field & Main Bank boosted its position in Southern by 11.3% during the third quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 10,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC purchased a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $205,000. Carson Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 1.1% during the third quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 70,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,376,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 0.6% during the third quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 28,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,560,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holistic Planning LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $419,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:SO opened at $88.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $97.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $89.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.75. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. Southern’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.27.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.