The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,586 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at about $725,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management grew its stake in Southern by 154.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 3,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 2,175 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Southern by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 19,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,720,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its stake in Southern by 69.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank increased their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.54.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,296. This represents a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $90.07 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $85.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.07. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $67.53 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $98.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.46, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. Research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.82%.

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.