Altrius Capital Management Inc Lowers Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Altrius Capital Management Inc lowered its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 617 shares during the period. Altrius Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank boosted its position in Southern by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. CNB Bank now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO traded up $1.18 on Monday, hitting $74.39. 3,851,436 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,719,596. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $75.80. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $69.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.39. The stock has a market cap of $81.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on SO. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.36.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.