The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Position Reduced by Palisade Asset Management LLC

Palisade Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,180 shares during the quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. CNB Bank lifted its position in Southern by 1,021.4% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were 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 $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,126 shares of company stock worth $1,364,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Trading Up 0.9 %

Southern stock traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $77.63. The stock had a trading volume of 6,643,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,822,375. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.82. The stock has a market cap of $84.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $77.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.35%.

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.