Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,979 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gentry Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Southern by 2.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.9% during 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. raised its position in shares of Southern by 5.2% during 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 raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.4% during 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. raised its position in shares of Southern by 5.0% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SO. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price target on Southern and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.38.

Southern Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of SO stock opened at $92.93 on Wednesday. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $104.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $94.13 and its 200-day moving average is $91.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

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

Southern 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.