AGF Management Ltd. Sells 7,347 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

AGF Management Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 46.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,536 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,347 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.'s holdings in Southern were worth $703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Southern by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 244.4% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO traded down $0.58 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $89.65. 3,365,656 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,285,925. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $67.53 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average of $86.26 and a 200-day moving average of $87.21.

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Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim lowered shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This represents a 23.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Company 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.