The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stake Lowered by Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc.

Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,312 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 404 shares during the period. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its position in Southern by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Southern by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the second quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.9% during the second quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $89.38 on Thursday. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $89.60 and a 200-day moving average of $82.95.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Southern’s payout ratio is 68.57%.

About Southern

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.