Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Lowers Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 230 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Southern Stock Up 1.2 %

SO opened at $72.99 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.80. The company has a market capitalization of $79.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.18.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group cut shares of 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 report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.