Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. Reduces Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 305 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for 1.1% of Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $1,945,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $301,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $3,795,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 sold a total of 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.3 %

SO stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 938,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,642,091. The company has a market cap of $79.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.49. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $69.23 and its 200-day moving average is $69.24. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.80.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 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 firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. Southern’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Bank of America upped their target price on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho increased their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

Southern Company 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.