Allstate Corp Has $246,000 Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Allstate Corp cut its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 178 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Southern were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 62.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $81.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,619,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,480,079. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $78.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $82.84. The stock has a market cap of $89.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $535,509.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,026 shares of company stock valued at $2,151,644. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank cut their price target on 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 raised their price objective on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Argus raised their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.50.

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.