Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by OneAscent Wealth Management LLC

OneAscent Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 15.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,218 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up approximately 1.3% of OneAscent Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $3,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 70.4% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 847 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. William Allan Corp grew its stake in Southern by 11.5% in the first quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 9,483 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Southern by 821.4% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 68,644 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,312,000 after purchasing an additional 61,194 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC grew its stake in Southern by 5.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 5,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 14,011 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,288,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $95.89. The stock had a trading volume of 3,889,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,742,263. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $96.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The firm's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Southern's payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.53.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through 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.