SignalPoint Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

SignalPoint Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 213 shares during the period. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. American National Bank boosted its holdings in Southern by 100.5% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 3,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Southern by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 57,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,009,000 after purchasing an additional 10,445 shares during the period. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 9,175 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Thrive Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 988 shares during the period. Finally, New Hampshire Trust boosted its holdings in Southern by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 3,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.58, for a total transaction of $352,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 131,284 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,024.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.58, for a total transaction of $352,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 131,284 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,024.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.62, for a total transaction of $1,452,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,164,616.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,490 shares of company stock worth $2,934,355 over the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of SO stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $70.85. The stock had a trading volume of 475,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,048,590. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $69.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.10. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $58.85 and a 52-week high of $78.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.27 billion, a PE ratio of 25.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.05. Southern had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 9.86%. The firm had revenue of $5.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Saturday, August 19th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, June 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.13.

Southern Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through three segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, and Gas Marketing Services. 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.