Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Aventail Capital Group LP

Aventail Capital Group LP cut its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 583,673 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 105,092 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for about 2.9% of Aventail Capital Group LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Aventail Capital Group LP owned 0.05% of Southern worth $50,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gentry Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Southern by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 11,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of SO stock opened at $92.63 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $104.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.38.

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.