Shepherd Financial Partners LLC Has $1.01 Million Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Shepherd Financial Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 780 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 100,089,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,180,430,000 after purchasing an additional 481,071 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Southern by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,721,382,000 after acquiring an additional 7,550,570 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Southern by 5.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,718,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $245,113,000 after acquiring an additional 145,810 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,542,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $197,192,000 after acquiring an additional 51,751 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Southern by 14.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,380,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $184,694,000 after purchasing an additional 297,012 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.07.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Down 2.0 %

SO stock traded down $1.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $89.18. 1,865,256 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,438,548. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $89.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.01. The stock has a market cap of $97.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.57%.

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.