The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC decreased its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 454.8% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 2,447 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 18.3% in the 2nd quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,806 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in Southern by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 56,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,421,000 after purchasing an additional 4,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Southern by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 355,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,605,000 after purchasing an additional 32,579 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,280 shares of company stock worth $1,678,625. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on SO. Scotiabank upped their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.00.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO traded down $0.39 on Thursday, reaching $86.80. 660,108 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,471,069. The firm has a market cap of $94.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $81.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.05. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $89.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

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.