Bailard Inc. Sells 481 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Bailard Inc. cut its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 481 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank boosted its stake in Southern by 1,021.4% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 0.5 %

SO traded down $0.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $74.03. 601,604 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,668,369. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.04 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $69.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.31. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $75.80.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America upped their price target on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

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

About Southern

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.