HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 22,300 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Southern Company by 1.5%, ending with 1,482,393 shares, valued at approximately $136.3 million as per their latest SEC filing.
• CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares at an average price of $95.00, reducing their ownership by 12.32% to 93,661 shares.
• Southern Company's recent quarterly earnings reported $0.91 earnings per share, missing estimates by $0.08, while revenue increased by 7.9% year-over-year to $6.97 billion.

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,482,393 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 22,300 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.13% of Southern worth $136,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Investors Research Corp increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP increased its stake in Southern by 60.6% in the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $94.25. 5,252,457 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,366,870. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $92.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.09. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern's payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.29.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.