WealthBridge Capital Management LLC Sells 195 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

WealthBridge Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 195 shares during the period. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Southern by 62.0% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 3,628.6% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE SO opened at $88.90 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 Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $64.53 and a fifty-two week high of $91.86. The stock has a market cap of $97.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business 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 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. 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. Wolfe Research cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.27.

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.