American International Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

American International Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 276,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 786 shares during the period. American International Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $19,817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 62.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,620,831.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,026 shares of company stock valued at $2,151,644. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Mizuho upped 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. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.50.

Southern Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE SO traded up $1.32 on Wednesday, reaching $82.67. The company had a trading volume of 4,147,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,461,771. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $82.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.97 and a 200-day moving average of $73.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

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.