Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Sells 802 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 802 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises about 0.8% of Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Southern by 45.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,721,382,000 after purchasing an additional 7,550,570 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $128,413,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Southern by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,457,000 after purchasing an additional 934,447 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 841,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 563,785 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $89.29 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $64.53 and a 12 month high of $91.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.63 billion, a PE ratio of 23.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.54.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.27.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.