J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Sells 7,447 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,447 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gentry Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Southern by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:SO opened at $92.74 on Friday. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $94.26 and a 200 day moving average of $91.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SO. Evercore raised shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.38.

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.