Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 252,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,800 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $22,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Smith Salley Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Southern by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 10,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049 shares during the period. Busey Bank lifted its position in Southern by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 14,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 76,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,715,000 after purchasing an additional 4,567 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Southern by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 340,486 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,690,000 after purchasing an additional 58,304 shares during the period. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,424,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of SO stock opened at $94.56 on Monday. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s payout ratio is 75.32%.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.