Ballew Advisors Inc Sells 230 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Ballew Advisors Inc cut its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 230 shares during the period. Ballew Advisors Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $435,979,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $369,131,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 38.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,547,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $488,461,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096,988 shares during the period. Imprint Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 5,840.2% in the second quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,949,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $194,939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,906,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,518,045,000 after purchasing an additional 1,838,857 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, December 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.46.

Southern Stock Up 1.0 %

SO stock traded up $0.69 during trading on Thursday, reaching $71.74. The stock had a trading volume of 4,731,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,607,858. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $75.80. The company’s 50 day moving average is $68.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $78.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. Southern’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total value of $359,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 101,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,291,435.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total transaction of $359,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 101,284 shares in the company, valued at $7,291,435.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,806,063. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.