The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.

Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. reduced its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 305 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up 1.1% of Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. CNB Bank raised its position in shares of Southern by 1,021.4% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 30.4% in the third quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.36.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock traded down $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.02. The stock had a trading volume of 938,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,642,091. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80. The stock has a market cap of $79.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $69.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.24.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.13%.

Southern 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.