Forte Capital LLC ADV Sells 286 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Forte Capital LLC ADV cut its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 286 shares during the period. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. West Branch Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 63.2% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $87.40 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50-day moving average is $89.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.62. 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 fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents 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 other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.27.

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.