The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL trimmed its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 13.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,250 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises 1.6% of Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Southern by 62.0% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 3,628.6% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’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 value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The sale was disclosed in a 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,845 shares of company stock worth $1,335,135 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Trading Up 0.8 %

Southern stock opened at $90.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $99.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $91.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $87.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.60.

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.