Raleigh Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 30.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,068 shares during the period. Southern makes up approximately 0.8% of Raleigh Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 18,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after buying an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 12.1% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Southern by 35.5% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Finally, Retirement Guys Formula LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 9,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on SO. Wolfe Research lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.07.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $92.73 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $88.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.95. The firm has a market cap of $101.39 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $64.53 and a 52-week high of $93.73.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Company 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.