RFG Advisory LLC Sells 18,002 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

RFG Advisory LLC lessened its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 14.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,985 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 18,002 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $10,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 100,089,634 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,180,430,000 after acquiring an additional 481,071 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Southern by 45.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,721,382,000 after purchasing an additional 7,550,570 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Southern by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,572,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $199,528,000 after buying an additional 452,075 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Southern by 2.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,542,113 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $197,192,000 after buying an additional 51,751 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Southern by 14.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,380,841 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $184,694,000 after buying an additional 297,012 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Southern stock traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $93.25. The stock had a trading volume of 3,662,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,440,846. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $101.96 billion, a PE ratio of 22.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $64.53 and a 1 year high of $93.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.64.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Southern

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.