Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. lowered its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 274,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 26,061 shares during the period. Southern comprises about 1.9% of Cahaba Wealth Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $21,258,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Southern by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 0.9% during the second quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,080,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Southern by 2.1% in the second quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $493,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 2.0% in the second quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 6,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Southern by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $88.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $90.34. The firm has a market cap of $96.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $83.99 and its 200 day moving average is $77.27.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,280 shares of company stock worth $1,678,625 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.