O Brien Greene & Co. Inc Sells 146 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

O Brien Greene & Co. Inc reduced its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 146 shares during the quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,945,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Southern by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth $301,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $3,795,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Trading Down 1.6 %

SO stock opened at $73.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $80.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.36. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $75.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.14%.

Southern Company 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.