Second Line Capital LLC Sells 546 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Second Line Capital LLC trimmed its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 546 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in Southern by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 15,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,201,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 5,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 355,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,605,000 after purchasing an additional 32,579 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 454.8% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 2,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new position in Southern during the second quarter valued at about $609,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $84.39 on Wednesday. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The firm has a market cap of $92.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $89.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. Southern’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.00.

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.