Panagora Asset Management Inc. Has $3.17 Million Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 38,191 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Red Door Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the second quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Southern by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Southern news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,280 shares of company stock valued at $1,678,625. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $86.40. 4,133,773 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,457,982. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $89.68. 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 fifty day moving average is $82.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.33. The company has a market cap of $94.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on SO shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.71.

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.