Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 1,448 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lowered its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,448 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in Southern by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.07.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $69.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $75.80. The company’s fifty day moving average is $68.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.98.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.