Leelyn Smith LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Leelyn Smith LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 668 shares during the quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Southern by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 100,089,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,180,430,000 after acquiring an additional 481,071 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 45.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,721,382,000 after purchasing an additional 7,550,570 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $631,068,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Southern by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,457,000 after buying an additional 934,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Southern by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,572,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $199,528,000 after buying an additional 452,075 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,845 shares of company stock valued at $2,266,455. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $89.44 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $90.34. The company has a market capitalization of $97.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Southern from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.71.

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.