The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Argyle Capital Management Inc.

Argyle Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 26,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,000 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 32.4% in the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. BCR Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. BCR Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 6,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners raised its stake in shares of Southern by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 13,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $845,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Southern by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 24,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $224,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

Southern Trading Down 1.6 %

SO traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $73.21. 5,478,762 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,829,927. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $69.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 79.34%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

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.