SHEPHERD WEALTH MANAGEMENT Ltd LIABILITY Co Sells 3,427 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• SHEPHERD WEALTH MANAGEMENT Ltd LIABILITY Co reduced its stake in Southern Company by 40.2% during the first quarter, now holding shares worth $469,000.
• Southern Company's stock has received mixed analyst ratings with price targets varying from $78.00 to $102.00, and an average rating of "Hold".
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.2%.

SHEPHERD WEALTH MANAGEMENT Ltd LIABILITY Co decreased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 40.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,101 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,427 shares during the period. Southern comprises 0.5% of SHEPHERD WEALTH MANAGEMENT Ltd LIABILITY Co's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. SHEPHERD WEALTH MANAGEMENT Ltd LIABILITY Co's holdings in Southern were worth $469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investors Research Corp increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SO. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.29.

Southern Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Southern stock traded down $0.54 during trading on Thursday, reaching $94.25. 5,252,457 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,366,870. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $92.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.68 billion, a PE ratio of 24.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Southern

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.