The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Carret Asset Management LLC

Carret Asset Management LLC lowered its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 273 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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. Insight Inv LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank raised its position in shares of Southern by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. CNB Bank now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $0.67 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.92. 5,660,756 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,702,166. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $69.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.24. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, 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 worth $739,587 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.36.

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.