Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 30.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,340,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,657,277 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.39% of Southern worth $1,337,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.38.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $92.74 on Monday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.84.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were 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 owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern 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.