Bank of Hawaii Reduces Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Bank of Hawaii cut its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 31,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Bank of Hawaii’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Syverson Strege & Co increased its stake in Southern by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,381,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its stake in Southern by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 6,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $510,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 8.0% during the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $87.89 on Thursday. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $67.53 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $88.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $96.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 71.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho upped 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. Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $94.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,296. This trade represents a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.