Austin Private Wealth LLC Sells 425 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Austin Private Wealth LLC decreased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 425 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Southern by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $693,000. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Successful Portfolios LLC lifted its position in Southern by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Successful Portfolios LLC now owns 9,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. Finally, Courier Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 35,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,461,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SO. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Citigroup began coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, December 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their target price on Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other 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 transaction 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 approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 25,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,806,063 in the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $71.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,731,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,607,858. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.85. 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 $78.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.49. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm 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 business earned $0.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.14%.

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.