The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lessened its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 561,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 27,559 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings in Southern were worth $46,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $91.69 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $70.70 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.33. The company has a market capitalization of $100.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.87, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Southern’s payout ratio is 71.82%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of Southern 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 $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.00.

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.