Bailard Inc. Sells 481 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Bailard Inc. lowered its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 36,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 481 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,945,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $301,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,795,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.5 %

Southern stock traded down $0.34 on Friday, hitting $74.03. 601,604 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,668,369. 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 Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80. The firm has a market cap of $81.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.31.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America raised their target price on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.36.

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.