Procyon Advisors LLC Trims Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Procyon Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 354 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Courier Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 35,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,461,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in Southern by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 87,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,142,000 after buying an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co of the South purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $314,000. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Southern by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $847,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Group Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 4,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Southern from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, December 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.46.

Southern Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:SO traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $71.15. 530,959 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,535,230. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $68.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.83. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $75.80. The company has a market capitalization of $77.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.14%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,998 shares of company stock worth $1,806,063. Corporate insiders own 0.28% 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.