Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 484 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 484 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Southern by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,399,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank raised its position in shares of Southern by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. CNB Bank now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at $6,620,831.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 value of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,026 shares of company stock valued at $2,151,644 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SO. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.50.

Southern Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:SO traded up $0.03 on Thursday, reaching $82.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 302,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,432,479. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $83.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $90.43 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $78.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm 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 company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.