Southern Company (The) $SO Holdings Decreased by Sound Income Strategies LLC

Sound Income Strategies LLC reduced its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 42.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,174 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,090 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Southern by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,587,589,000 after buying an additional 7,593,224 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Southern by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,004,866,000 after buying an additional 5,436,212 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,381,344,000 after buying an additional 384,860 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,111,450,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 0.1%

Southern stock opened at $97.84 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $89.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.26.

About Southern

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.