Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Waycross Partners LLC

Waycross Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 97.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 157,309 shares during the quarter. Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SO. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 21,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Sara Bay Financial boosted its position in Southern by 2.7% during the third quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 4,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Evercore upgraded Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.08.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of SO opened at $95.51 on Friday. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The company’s fifty day moving average is $93.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.83. The firm has a market cap of $105.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.