Trinity Financial Advisors LLC Reduces Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Trinity Financial Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 42.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,376 shares during the quarter. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Southern by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southern by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC raised its stake in Southern by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank raised its stake in Southern by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. CNB Bank now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE SO traded up $1.06 on Wednesday, reaching $74.56. The company had a trading volume of 3,152,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,704,401. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $69.93 and a 200-day moving average of $69.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays upped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.