Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. Trims Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. reduced its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 11.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 120,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,751 shares during the period. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C.’s holdings in Southern were worth $9,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $702,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the second quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 2.1% during the second quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Southern by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 6,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Southern by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,280 shares of company stock valued at $1,678,625. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.71.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $88.40 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $90.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $83.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

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.