The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Marietta Wealth Management LLC

Marietta Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 7.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 984 shares during the quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth $3,096,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in Southern by 4.6% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 6,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Southern by 18.2% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 79,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,697,000 after buying an additional 12,247 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 41,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,957,000 after acquiring an additional 2,473 shares during the period. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 13,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $991,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays upped their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.07.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $93.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $89.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $64.53 and a 12 month high of $93.73.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 3.09%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.57%.

Insider Activity at Southern

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 stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.