The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by BOS Asset Management LLC

BOS Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 174 shares during the quarter. BOS Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 3,628.6% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 63.2% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $92.27 on Thursday. 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 1-year low of $64.53 and a 1-year high of $92.46. The company has a market capitalization of $100.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $88.56 and a 200-day moving average of $81.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, 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 approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bank of America increased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.07.

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.