Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Sells 584 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 584 shares during the period. Southern comprises approximately 1.6% of Pathway Financial Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Old North State Trust LLC increased its stake in Southern by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 22,156 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,237,000 after buying an additional 1,206 shares during the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC boosted its position in Southern by 35.0% during the 2nd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 11,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 2,895 shares during the period. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $183,000. Finally, Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 0.5% in the second quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,505,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $90.17 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $98.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $90.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $87.23 and its 200 day moving average is $79.81.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The business 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.60.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was 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 owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,845 shares of company stock valued at $2,266,455 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.