Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 213 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Wright Investors Service Inc. trimmed its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 213 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $16,067,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 382.0% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,998,000 after purchasing an additional 33,120 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 8.8% during the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 11,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 514,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,095,000 after purchasing an additional 12,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank boosted its position in shares of Southern by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 9,440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $677,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.27.

Southern Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $90.31. The company had a trading volume of 3,432,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,608,267. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $87.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.34. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $62.26 and a 1-year high of $91.86. 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 stock has a market cap of $98.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

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.