Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Reduces Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA cut its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 205 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s holdings in Southern were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. CNB Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,021.4% in the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho upped their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded up $0.26 on Tuesday, hitting $73.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,009,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,649,044. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market cap of $80.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $69.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.18.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.