Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Sells 77,230 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Lockheed Martin Investment Management cut its Southern Company stake by 55.7% in the third quarter, selling 77,230 shares and retaining 61,360 shares valued at about $5.1 million.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly neutral: eight analysts rate the stock Buy, 11 Hold and two Sell, with an average price target of $97.32.
• Southern beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting EPS of $1.94 and revenue of $8.84 billion, up 13% year over year. It also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, equivalent to a 3.3% annualized yield.

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 55.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 77,230 shares during the quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Southern were worth $5,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Uptick Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,313,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,265 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Advisortrust Partners LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SO. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $92.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $93.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.50 to $85.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $97.32.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling Spainhour, Jr. sold 3,333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.81, for a total transaction of $306,002.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,886 shares in the company, valued at $2,927,453.66. This represents a 9.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $93.51 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.30. The firm's 50-day moving average is $88.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.50. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $81.69 and a 1 year high of $99.58.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.23. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The business had revenue of $8.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.70 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.25%.

About Southern

Southern Company is an energy holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service, primarily across the southeastern United States.

Its electric utility businesses include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers in their respective states. Southern Company also owns Southern Power, which develops and operates wholesale power generation assets, and Southern Company Gas, whose businesses distribute natural gas to customers in several states.

Formed in 1945, Southern Company has grown from a regional electric utility holding company into a diversified energy provider.

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