The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC

St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lowered its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 243 shares during the quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $885,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Southern by 45.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,721,382,000 after acquiring an additional 7,550,570 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 8,741.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,502,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $135,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,485,816 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Southern by 2,719.7% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,670,000 after purchasing an additional 841,435 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in Southern by 7,657.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 571,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,304,000 after purchasing an additional 563,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Southern by 35.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,929,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $138,457,000 after purchasing an additional 500,000 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $91.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $89.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.28. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. The trade was 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 available at this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.07.

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.