Welch Group LLC Sells 3,560 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Welch Group LLC trimmed its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 785,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,560 shares during the period. Southern comprises about 3.1% of Welch Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $70,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vista Capital Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Southern by 1.4% in the second quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the second quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Up 0.6 %

SO traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $92.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 184,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,391,368. The firm has a market cap of $101.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $89.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.60.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued 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 3.12%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.07.

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.