The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Oakworth Capital Inc.

Oakworth Capital Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,513 shares during the quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. now owns 4,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on SO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO traded up $2.12 on Wednesday, reaching $69.89. The company had a trading volume of 4,884,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,610,280. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $76.50 billion, a PE ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.97. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.80.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.14%.

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.