AE Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

AE Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 31.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 276,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 124,661 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $19,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $435,979,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $369,131,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in shares of Southern by 586.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 5,564,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $387,157,000 after acquiring an additional 4,753,465 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Southern by 162.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,572,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $457,306,000 after acquiring an additional 4,067,395 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 150.3% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,617,965 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $390,896,000 after acquiring an additional 3,373,118 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.62, for a total value of $1,452,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,164,616.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 131,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,024.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 21st. The stock was 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 directly owns 98,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,164,616.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,490 shares of company stock valued at $2,934,355 in the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock opened at $71.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $77.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a PEG ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.95. The Southern Company has a one year low of $58.85 and a one year high of $78.34. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. Southern had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 9.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 21st were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 98.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $79.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 31st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Barclays started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Southern from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.13.

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.