RB Capital Management LLC Has $374,000 Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

RB Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 305 shares during the quarter. RB Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. CNB Bank grew its position in shares of Southern by 1,021.4% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 30.4% in the third quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock traded up $1.02 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $74.52. 5,241,705 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,732,389. The company has a 50-day moving average of $69.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.50. The company has a market capitalization of $81.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $75.80. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 77.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. 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, Southern currently has a consensus 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.