Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 85,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,447 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gentry Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 2.3% in the third quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 0.4% during the third quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,724,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $92.74 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $104.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.