Southern Company (The) $SO Stock: IFG Advisory LLC Trims Holdings

IFG Advisory LLC lessened its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 8.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,399 shares during the quarter. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $8,727,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Optivise Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 0.3% during the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,313,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Compass Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 3.7% during the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Advisortrust Partners LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 5.0% during the first quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Southern by 3.3% in the second quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sterling Spainhour, Jr. sold 3,333 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.81, for a total transaction of $306,002.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,886 shares in the company, valued at $2,927,453.66. The trade was a 9.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Southern from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $98.00 in a report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Southern and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.32.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock traded up $1.16 on Friday, hitting $93.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,081,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,297,573. The company has a market capitalization of $109.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.30. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $81.69 and a 52-week high of $99.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $88.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $8.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.38 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.25%.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company is an energy holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service, primarily across the southeastern United States. Its electric utility businesses include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers in their respective states. Southern Company also owns Southern Power, which develops and operates wholesale power generation assets, and Southern Company Gas, whose businesses distribute natural gas to customers in several states.