Waldron Private Wealth LLC Decreases Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Waldron Private Wealth LLC reduced its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 388 shares during the quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors boosted its stake in Southern by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 25,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,804,000 after purchasing an additional 3,390 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 12,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 25,576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company boosted its stake in Southern by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 19,779 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,387,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $4,621,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,446,113. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $68.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $74.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $68.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.95. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.80.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. Southern’s revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho lifted their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.07.

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.