Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Sells 1,197 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lowered its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,197 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $631,068,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 53.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,444,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,153,065,000 after acquiring an additional 5,707,845 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $128,413,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 6,303.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,199,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Southern by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,457,000 after purchasing an additional 934,447 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Southern stock traded up $0.41 on Friday, hitting $78.13. 460,626 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,572,544. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $80.84. The company has a market cap of $85.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.14.

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.