The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Kingsview Wealth Management LLC

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,404 shares during the quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 11.4% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 63,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,726,000 after acquiring an additional 6,504 shares during the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 9,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $901,000 after purchasing an additional 2,207 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,032,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,645,000. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 76.9% in the third quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 18,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after buying an additional 7,829 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SO. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.47.

Southern Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE SO opened at $87.60 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $89.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.79. The company has a market capitalization of $95.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Southern Company 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.