Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 16,050 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 442,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,050 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $31,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 3.1% during the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC increased its position in Southern by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its holdings in Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,454,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, CNB Bank boosted its position in Southern by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. CNB Bank now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on SO shares. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Southern from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.60.

Southern Trading Down 1.6 %

SO traded down $1.29 on Wednesday, hitting $79.42. The company had a trading volume of 4,245,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,769,036. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $86.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $74.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.36. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $80.84.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.