Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Lowers Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,261 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 260 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $16,067,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 382.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,998,000 after buying an additional 33,120 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth $1,288,000. Nwam LLC boosted its position in Southern by 8.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Argus increased their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,280 shares of company stock valued at $1,678,625 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SO traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $86.63. The stock had a trading volume of 2,401,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,510,101. The company’s 50 day moving average is $80.09 and its 200-day moving average is $74.32. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $89.68. 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 company has a market cap of $94.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 17.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Southern Company 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.