The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Keudell Morrison Wealth Management

Keudell Morrison Wealth Management cut its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,386 shares during the quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management’s holdings in Southern were worth $927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Southern by 45.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,721,382,000 after buying an additional 7,550,570 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 8,741.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,502,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $135,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,485,816 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Southern by 2,719.7% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,670,000 after purchasing an additional 841,435 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in Southern by 7,657.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 571,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,304,000 after purchasing an additional 563,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Southern by 35.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,929,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $138,457,000 after purchasing an additional 500,000 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on SO. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.27.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock traded down $0.35 on Thursday, reaching $87.07. 418,328 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,445,527. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $89.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.62. The firm has a market cap of $95.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Profile

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.