Blue Fin Capital Inc. Sells 149 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Blue Fin Capital Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 149 shares during the period. Blue Fin Capital Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 38.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,547,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $488,461,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,988 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 5.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,906,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,518,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838,857 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 6,303.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,199,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180,812 shares during the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 8,375.3% during the third quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 849,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,989,000 after purchasing an additional 839,621 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 24.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,480,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $160,558,000 after purchasing an additional 485,562 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,025 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,402. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.85. 4,578,202 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,244,740. 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 Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $70.39 and its 200-day moving average is $69.64. The stock has a market cap of $83.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.11%. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.35%.

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.