Byrne Asset Management LLC Has $276,000 Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Byrne Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 275 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its holdings in Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. now owns 4,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho lifted their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.14.

Southern Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE SO opened at $68.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80. The business’s 50-day moving average is $68.76 and its 200 day moving average is $68.91.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $706,526.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares in the company, valued at $2,007,222.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $706,526.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,007,222.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,998 shares of company stock worth $1,446,113. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.