The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lessened its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 385,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,657 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $27,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Southern by 62.0% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO traded up $0.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $78.04. The stock had a trading volume of 2,343,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,277,963. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $77.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.48. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $80.84. 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 has a market cap of $85.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SO. UBS Group downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.14.

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.