Capital Advisors Inc. OK Decreases Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Capital Advisors Inc. OK trimmed its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 711,227 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 29,295 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up approximately 1.1% of Capital Advisors Inc. OK's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Capital Advisors Inc. OK owned 0.07% of Southern worth $49,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the third quarter valued at $35,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $706,526.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares in the company, valued at $2,007,222.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,998 shares of company stock worth $1,446,113. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Down 1.2 %

SO stock traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $68.73. The company had a trading volume of 4,818,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,159,216. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.80. The company has a market capitalization of $75.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.76 and a 200 day moving average of $68.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. Southern's payout ratio is presently 77.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho raised their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $74.14.

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.