Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 375 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises approximately 1.5% of Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 72,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,597,000 after purchasing an additional 4,847 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 223,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,476,000 after acquiring an additional 43,681 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,853 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $764,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its position in Southern by 79.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 10,301 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 4,565 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 2.9% in the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 19,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SO. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.14.

Southern Stock Up 0.3 %

Southern stock traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $81.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,932,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,552,680. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $85.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.13. The company has a market capitalization of $89.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.