Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 3,268 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lessened its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 27.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,268 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 66.4% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 9,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $679,000 after buying an additional 3,864 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. AM Investment Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 67,301 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,719,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC now owns 19,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Syon Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $437,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 available through this link. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $73.21 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.38. The company has a market cap of $80.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 4.59 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. 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 dividend yield of 3.93%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

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.