Bfsg LLC Sells 866 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Bfsg LLC lowered its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,804 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 866 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors increased its position in Southern by 45.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,721,382,000 after buying an additional 7,550,570 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Southern by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,457,000 after acquiring an additional 934,447 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Southern by 2,719.7% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in Southern by 7,657.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 571,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,304,000 after purchasing an additional 563,785 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Southern by 35.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,929,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,457,000 after purchasing an additional 500,000 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Southern

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

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $92.27 on Thursday. The Southern Company has a one year low of $64.53 and a one year high of $92.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $100.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.41.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SO. Barclays boosted their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wolfe Research lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.