Sigma Planning Corp Trims Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Sigma Planning Corp reduced its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 52.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 33,564 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 3.1% during the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its stake in Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank lifted its stake in Southern by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. CNB Bank now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of SO stock opened at $72.15 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $69.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.12. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. Southern’s revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. UBS Group cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.07.

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.