The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stock Position Decreased by Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 36.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,700 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Vectors Research Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC now owns 24,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,239,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Southern by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 11,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $234,000. Sargent Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $222,000. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 37.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 5,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,510 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upped their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.27.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $86.56 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45. 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 company has a market capitalization of $94.84 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $89.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.12.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’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 value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.