The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Position Reduced by Means Investment CO. Inc.

Means Investment CO. Inc. trimmed its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 11.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,013 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,825 shares during the period. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Red Door Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Southern by 31.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 4.5% in the second quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 4.5% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,158,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.00.

Southern Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of SO traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $86.94. The stock had a trading volume of 2,670,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,468,762. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $81.37 and a 200 day moving average of $75.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $95.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $89.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The sale 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following 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. Insiders have sold 21,280 shares of company stock valued at $1,678,625 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.