Advisory Services Network LLC Has $8.62 Million Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Advisory Services Network LLC cut its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,893 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 17,503 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $8,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SO. TBH Global Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 7,128 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $275,000. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 10,843 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $1,162,000. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $585,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded up $0.58 on Friday, reaching $77.75. 2,424,732 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,115,094. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.48. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $80.14. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $73.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Southern's payout ratio is 74.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. UBS Group lowered Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.73.

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.