Southern Company (The) (SO) Position Decreased by BB&T Securities LLC

BB&T Securities LLC decreased its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 11.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 375,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 49,725 shares during the period. BB&T Securities LLC’s holdings in Southern Company (The) were worth $18,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Southern Company (The) by 9.7% in the first quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,681,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $83,717,000 after buying an additional 149,174 shares during the period. Gierl Augustine Investment Management Inc raised its stake in Southern Company (The) by 8.8% in the first quarter. Gierl Augustine Investment Management Inc now owns 72,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,586,000 after buying an additional 5,844 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southern Company (The) by 115.7% in the first quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 2,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 1,260 shares during the period. Vicus Capital raised its stake in Southern Company (The) by 11.9% in the first quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 16,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $818,000 after buying an additional 1,745 shares during the period. Finally, Elkfork Partners LLC raised its stake in Southern Company (The) by 23.9% in the first quarter. Elkfork Partners LLC now owns 695,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,620,000 after buying an additional 134,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.83% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company (NYSE:SO) traded up 0.06% during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $48.99. The stock had a trading volume of 2,990,253 shares. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.58 and a beta of 0.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $48.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.48. Southern Company has a one year low of $46.20 and a one year high of $53.73.

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Southern Company (The) had a return on equity of 11.30% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $5.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Southern Company will post $2.95 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.74%. Southern Company (The)’s payout ratio is currently 346.27%.

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Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Jefferies Group LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price (down from $56.00) on shares of Southern Company (The) in a report on Thursday, May 4th. BidaskClub upgraded Southern Company (The) from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. Barclays PLC reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $56.00 price target (up from $53.00) on shares of Southern Company (The) in a report on Sunday, April 23rd. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $49.50 price target on shares of Southern Company (The) in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Southern Company (The) from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.79.

In related news, EVP Christopher C. Womack sold 75,144 shares of Southern Company (The) stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.29, for a total transaction of $3,703,847.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,204,338.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Lantrip sold 25,000 shares of Southern Company (The) stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $1,287,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,600,620. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 152,084 shares of company stock valued at $7,665,158. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Company (The) Company Profile

The Southern Company (Southern Company) is a holding company. The Company owns all of the stock of the traditional electric operating companies and the parent entities of Southern Power Company (Southern Power) and Southern Company Gas, and owns other direct and indirect subsidiaries. The Company’s segments include Gas distribution operations, Gas marketing services, Wholesale gas services, Gas midstream operations and All other.