Financial Advocates Investment Management Trims Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Financial Advocates Investment Management cut its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 8.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,030 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Southern were worth $879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Red Door Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Southern by 31.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 4.5% during the second quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 4.5% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SO. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.71.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $85.80 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $93.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $82.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.33. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $89.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,280 shares of company stock valued at $1,678,625 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.