Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Cuts Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. lessened its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bell Bank grew its stake in Southern by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Bell Bank now owns 121,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,028,000 after purchasing an additional 13,113 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its stake in Southern by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 10,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $828,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 12,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trinity Legacy Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 58,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,824,000 after acquiring an additional 3,590 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.7 %

Southern stock opened at $88.46 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $96.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.53. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.99 and a 52 week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho raised their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.54.

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.