Davidson Investment Advisors Sells 164,192 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Davidson Investment Advisors cut its position in Southern Company by 95.4% in Q4, selling 164,192 shares and leaving 7,975 shares valued at about $695,000.
• Company insiders also trimmed holdings: CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares for ~$2.42M (a 19.44% reduction) and EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares (a 17.8% reduction).
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Hold with a $98.69 price target; Southern pays a $0.74 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.96, yield ~3.1%) and recently reported a slight EPS miss ($0.55 vs. $0.56) while revenue rose 10.1% year-over-year.

Davidson Investment Advisors lessened its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 95.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,975 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 164,192 shares during the period. Davidson Investment Advisors' holdings in Southern were worth $695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 21,461 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,667 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,485,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Sara Bay Financial grew its holdings in Southern by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 4,133 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SO. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Evercore raised shares of Southern from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.69.

Southern Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of SO opened at $94.56 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $95.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern's payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

About Southern

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern's principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.

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