Vicus Capital Reduces Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Vicus Capital lowered its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 59.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,964 shares during the period. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Southern were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 382.0% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,998,000 after buying an additional 33,120 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 8.8% during the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 11,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Southern by 149.5% in the 2nd quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. now owns 16,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 9,726 shares in the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 219.4% during the 3rd quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 6,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth $455,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.07.

Southern Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of SO stock opened at $93.08 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $101.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $89.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.11. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $64.53 and a twelve month high of $93.73.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.57%.

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.