Values First Advisors Inc. Sells 451 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Values First Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 11.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 451 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.2% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the second quarter worth $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Southern by 31.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 34.7% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.07.

Southern Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:SO opened at $93.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.20. The firm has a market cap of $102.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its 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. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.