Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC lessened its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 430 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank raised its holdings in Southern by 1,021.4% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho boosted their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.71.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,126 shares of company stock worth $1,364,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $78.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,541,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,853,168. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $71.22 and a 200 day moving average of $69.93. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $78.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

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.