Capital Square LLC Sells 1,617 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Capital Square LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,617 shares during the period. Southern comprises about 1.3% of Capital Square LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Capital Square LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 141 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its position in Southern by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $88.39. 487,356 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,423,292. 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 Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The stock has a market cap of $96.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $89.73 and its 200 day moving average is $84.79.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.47.

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.