Harbour Investments Inc. Sells 9,028 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• Harbour Investments Inc. reduced its stake in Southern Company by 27.8% during the first quarter, now holding 23,424 shares worth approximately $2.15 million.
• Southern Company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.1% and a dividend payout ratio of 70.64%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Southern Company, with an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.27, reflecting varied expectations for the stock's performance.

Harbour Investments Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 27.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,424 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,028 shares during the quarter. Harbour Investments Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $2,154,000 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 stock. Investors Research Corp lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Elequin Capital LP boosted its stake in Southern by 60.6% during the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded up $1.03 on Monday, hitting $96.02. The company had a trading volume of 5,837,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,309,095. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $91.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.50. The stock has a market cap of $105.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Southern's payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.29.

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.