Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Sells 640 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management trimmed its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,156 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 640 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Southern were worth $342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 15.3% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 3,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Southern by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 184,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,290,000 after acquiring an additional 14,399 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $297,000. Founders Financial Alliance LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth $197,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE SO opened at $82.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $90.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45. 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 50 day moving average price of $84.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.57.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their price target 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.14.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.