Donaldson Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC reduced its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,164 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,021.4% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on SO. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 28,691 shares in the company, valued at $2,007,222.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $706,526.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,446,113. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock traded down $0.34 during trading on Monday, hitting $68.39. 3,973,590 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,612,840. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $75.80. The stock has a market cap of $74.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 77.14%.

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.