The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Stake Cut by Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp lessened its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,669 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,446 shares during the period. Southern accounts for approximately 3.3% of Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp's holdings in Southern were worth $6,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Abel Hall LLC grew its stake in Southern by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $616,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Southern by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its stake in Southern by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC grew its stake in Southern by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 895 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its stake in Southern by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. This trade represents a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,148,284.90. This represents a 1.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Up 3.2 %

Southern stock traded up $2.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $91.54. 6,727,812 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,285,584. The company has a market cap of $100.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $67.53 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $85.07 and a 200-day moving average of $87.00.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Southern's payout ratio is 71.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SO. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.54.

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.