Imprint Wealth LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Imprint Wealth LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,903 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 425 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises approximately 1.6% of Imprint Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Imprint Wealth LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $43,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,007,222.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,446,113 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE SO traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.92. 1,094,815 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,562,178. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.80. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.