The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Axxcess Wealth Management LLC

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,224 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.1% in the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,454,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, CNB Bank increased its position in shares of Southern by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. CNB Bank now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,025 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,402. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of SO stock opened at $74.96 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $82.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.68. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $75.98.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 72.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SO shares. 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 research note on Thursday, April 4th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America upped their target price on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.71.

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.