The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,343,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,429 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.12% of Southern worth $94,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SO. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new position in Southern in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 30.4% in the third quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE SO traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.21. 5,478,762 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,829,927. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $75.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $69.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.36.

Southern 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.