The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC

Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 290 shares during the period. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 4,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 533,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,543,000 after buying an additional 3,847 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY increased its stake in Southern by 54.1% in the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 2,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $184,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $409,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $1.16 on Friday, hitting $73.21. 5,478,762 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,829,927. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $69.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.36. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $75.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The business’s revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 77.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.36.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.