The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 670 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.9% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 185,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,988,000 after acquiring an additional 6,997 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 58.8% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 37,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,424,000 after acquiring an additional 13,873 shares in the last quarter. Gratus Capital LLC boosted its position in Southern by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Gratus Capital LLC now owns 6,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Traverso Chambers Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Southern by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Traverso Chambers Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 12.2% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,126 shares of company stock worth $1,364,115. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated 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. 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 research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.71.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $77.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,930,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,790,199. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87, a PEG ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $70.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.82. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $77.15.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. Southern’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.35%.

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.