Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. decreased its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 17.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,966 shares during the quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. West Branch Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 34.7% during 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. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 63.2% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Southern by 31.8% in the 2nd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE SO traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $88.09. 76,650 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,442,738. The company has a 50 day moving average of $89.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.47. 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 Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The firm has a market cap of $96.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wolfe Research downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was 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 $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.