The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by SevenBridge Financial Group LLC

SevenBridge Financial Group LLC lowered its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 129 shares during the quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 2,078.6% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 152,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,769,000 after buying an additional 145,667 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 6.5% in the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 3,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in Southern in the third quarter valued at about $232,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 20,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,039,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,780,000 after purchasing an additional 112,132 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This represents a 23.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Down 0.1 %

SO opened at $91.82 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $87.65 and its 200-day moving average is $87.29. The Southern Company has a one year low of $67.53 and a one year high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $100.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The business had revenue of $6.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.90 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised 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 reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.46.

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.