Successful Portfolios LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Successful Portfolios LLC reduced its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 624 shares during the quarter. Successful Portfolios LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 3.1% during the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC lifted its position in Southern by 1.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its holdings in Southern by 0.7% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, CNB Bank grew its holdings in Southern by 23.9% during the fourth 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 period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock opened at $77.57 on Monday. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $80.84. The firm has a market cap of $84.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.27.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.42%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.14.

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.