The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC

Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 209 shares during the quarter. Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 168.1% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its position in Southern by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the second quarter worth $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Southern by 31.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at $54,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $88.26. The stock had a trading volume of 279,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,423,292. The company has a market capitalization of $96.70 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $89.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on SO. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank upped their price objective 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, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of 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 represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.