Eagle Ridge Investment Management Sells 1,018 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Eagle Ridge Investment Management reduced its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 175,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,018 shares during the period. Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings in Southern were worth $12,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $1,945,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,045,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $301,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $3,795,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction 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 approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.36.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $74.13. 2,138,553 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,696,536. The company has a market cap of $81.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.49. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.39. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $75.80.

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 net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

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.