Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Sells 7,239 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lowered its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,239 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Southern by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,380,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,895,000 after buying an additional 392,210 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $737,256,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,681,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $543,793,000 after buying an additional 508,149 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,785,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $313,785,000 after buying an additional 19,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 7.2% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,231,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $311,895,000 after acquiring an additional 216,900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $93.74 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $109.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.30. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $81.69 and a 52 week high of $99.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.56.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.23. Southern had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 16.00%. The firm had revenue of $8.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 69.25%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Sterling Spainhour, Jr. sold 3,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.81, for a total transaction of $306,002.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,886 shares in the company, valued at $2,927,453.66. The trade was a 9.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on SO. Citigroup dropped their price target on Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.32.

About Southern

Southern Company is an energy holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service, primarily across the southeastern United States. Its electric utility businesses include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers in their respective states. Southern Company also owns Southern Power, which develops and operates wholesale power generation assets, and Southern Company Gas, whose businesses distribute natural gas to customers in several states.