NewEdge Wealth LLC Decreases Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

NewEdge Wealth LLC cut its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 41.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,327 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Uptick Partners LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 2.4% in the first quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 4.7% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several research reports. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.21.

Southern Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of SO opened at $96.45 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $94.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Southern Company Profile

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.