Procyon Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Procyon Advisors LLC cut its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 354 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,945,000. Bollard Group LLC boosted its position in Southern by 1.0% during the second quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 431,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,313,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082 shares during the last quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 200.9% during the third quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 76,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,933,000 after acquiring an additional 50,897 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $301,000. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southern by 2.4% during the second quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,712,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SO. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, December 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.46.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total value of $359,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 101,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,291,435.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total transaction of $359,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 101,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,291,435.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,998 shares of company stock worth $1,806,063 in the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Up 0.1 %

SO stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $71.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 530,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,535,230. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $77.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $68.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

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.