Private Asset Management Inc. Sells 9,119 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Private Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 20.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 36,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,119 shares during the quarter. Private Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Tanglewood Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. TD Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 122.0% during the 1st quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 1.4 %

Southern stock traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $70.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 371,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,032,960. The Southern Company has a one year low of $58.85 and a one year high of $79.15. The stock has a market cap of $76.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $69.41 and a 200-day moving average of $69.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. Southern had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 9.86%. The firm’s revenue was down 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.07 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.58, for a total transaction of $352,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 131,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,024.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total transaction of $99,904.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,878,289.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.58, for a total value of $352,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 131,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,024.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 41,490 shares of company stock worth $2,934,355. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Southern from $79.00 to $77.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “conviction-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 3rd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Southern from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $67.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

About Southern

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.