EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 117 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,721,382,000 after acquiring an additional 7,550,570 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $128,413,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Southern by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,457,000 after purchasing an additional 934,447 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 2,719.7% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,670,000 after buying an additional 841,435 shares during the period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 7,657.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 571,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,304,000 after buying an additional 563,785 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $89.70 on Monday. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $90.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $86.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SO. Scotiabank raised their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.33.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,845 shares of company stock valued at $2,266,455. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.