Cim Investment Management Inc. Sells 155 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Cim Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth $54,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 0.1 %

SO opened at $83.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.47. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. Analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% 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.