Phillips Wealth Planners LLC Sells 851 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Phillips Wealth Planners LLC decreased its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 851 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $376,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 106,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,659,000 after purchasing an additional 4,940 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $532,000. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its position in shares of Southern by 16.2% in the first quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 7,301 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,255,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.27.

Southern Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of SO stock opened at $88.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $89.74 and a 200-day moving average of $83.15. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The stock has a market cap of $96.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Southern 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.