Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Has $4.75 Million Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. decreased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 67,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,060 shares during the period. Southern makes up 1.3% of Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $1,945,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Southern by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $301,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $3,795,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased 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, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO traded up $0.85 during trading on Monday, hitting $74.06. 542,686 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,678,104. 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 company has a market cap of $81.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.39. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $75.80.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.14%.

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.