The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Holdings Cut by Islay Capital Management LLC

Islay Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 65.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,588 shares during the period. Islay Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,945,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $301,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,795,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho upped their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.36.

Southern Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of Southern stock traded down $0.01 on Tuesday, hitting $74.38. 1,517,874 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,679,419. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $69.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.45. 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 Southern Company has a 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $75.80. The company has a market cap of $81.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 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 net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. Southern’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern 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.