Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 38,596 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 63.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,480 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 38,596 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $1,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Southern by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC lifted its position in Southern by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.5% in 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. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 4.3% in the third 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 during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock traded down $2.83 on Tuesday, reaching $83.67. 6,138,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,196,787. The firm's 50 day moving average is $84.25 and its 200-day moving average is $86.55. The firm has a market cap of $91.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Southern's payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $90.14.

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.