The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) is Welch Group LLC's 7th Largest Position

Welch Group LLC reduced its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 766,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,896 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises about 3.1% of Welch Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Welch Group LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Southern worth $69,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Southern by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 244.4% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.21.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $0.60 on Tuesday, hitting $89.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,702,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,073,773. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $76.96 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $98.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The stock's 50-day moving average is $89.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This represents a 23.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Company 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.