The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stock Holdings Lessened by Glassman Wealth Services

Glassman Wealth Services cut its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 157 shares during the period. Glassman Wealth Services’ holdings in Southern were worth $274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 62.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded up $0.58 during trading on Friday, reaching $77.75. 2,424,732 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,115,094. The company has a market capitalization of $85.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $80.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.79.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.73.

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.