Providence First Trust Co Trims Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Providence First Trust Co cut its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 85.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,166 shares during the period. Providence First Trust Co’s holdings in Southern were worth $242,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SO. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in Southern during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.85.

Southern Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of SO stock opened at $93.60 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.36. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $95.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.97.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Southern

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.