Fusion Capital LLC Decreases Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Fusion Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 166 shares during the quarter. Fusion Capital LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Southern by 168.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in Southern by 84.9% during the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 244.4% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE SO opened at $88.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.06, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.53. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.99 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The business’s 50-day moving average is $84.25 and its 200 day moving average is $86.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The business had revenue of $6.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.90 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.54.

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.