The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Holdings Trimmed by 1834 Investment Advisors Co.

1834 Investment Advisors Co. decreased its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 27.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,836 shares during the quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 63.2% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Southern by 31.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Mizuho downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.27.

Southern Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $88.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $97.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.52. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $89.83 and its 200 day moving average is $83.59. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

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.