Ascent Group LLC Sells 4,342 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Ascent Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,342 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its position in Southern by 1.4% in the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 11,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $798,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 19,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 3,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Doyle Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Doyle Wealth Management now owns 46,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,192,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.78% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock opened at $66.18 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $67.08 and its 200-day moving average is $68.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $72.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $58.85 and a twelve month high of $80.57.

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. Southern had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 12.40%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.62 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 82.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 14,546 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.95, for a total value of $1,032,038.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 120,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,569,766.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 1,282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total value of $85,381.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,832,299.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 14,546 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.95, for a total value of $1,032,038.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 120,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,569,766.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,680 shares of company stock valued at $1,174,768 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Southern from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Southern from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on Southern from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.93.

Southern Company Profile

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The Southern Co is a holding company, which engages in the generation and sale of electricity. It operates through the following segments: Traditional Electric Operating Companies, Southern Power and Southern Company Gas. The Traditional Electric Operating Companies segment refers to vertically integrated utilities that own generation, transmission and distribution facilities, and supplies electric services in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi.