The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) is Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s 3rd Largest Position

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp decreased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 79,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,446 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for about 3.3% of Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its stake in Southern by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Southern by 244.4% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $88.64 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $84.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $67.53 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $97.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.53.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The company had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.90 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 71.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.