Benin Management CORP Sells 1,000 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Benin Management CORP decreased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 10.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,491 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Benin Management CORP’s holdings in Southern were worth $766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 382.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,998,000 after buying an additional 33,120 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 11,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $890,000 after buying an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 149.5% during the 2nd quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. now owns 16,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after buying an additional 9,726 shares in the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 219.4% in the 3rd quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 6,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $455,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:SO traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $93.23. 526,329 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,421,564. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $64.53 and a 52 week high of $93.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $88.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion for 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 revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on SO shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.07.

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.