Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Sells 4,753 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 8.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,753 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 79,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,697,000 after acquiring an additional 12,247 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 6.2% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 55,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,201 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 323,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,193,000 after purchasing an additional 13,728 shares in the last quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 31.7% during the 1st quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Up 1.1 %

Southern stock opened at $94.15 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $89.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.18. The firm has a market cap of $102.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern 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 owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.07.

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.