Cornerstone Capital Inc. Sells 8,156 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Cornerstone Capital Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 176,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,156 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $12,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Southern by 295.2% during the fourth quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 14,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 66.4% during the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 9,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 3,864 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, AM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its position in Southern by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 67,301 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,719,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 1.6 %

SO stock opened at $73.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $75.80. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $69.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The business’s revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend yield of 3.93%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays raised their price objective 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. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

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.