Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. trimmed its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 231,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,127 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $21,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.1% in the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in Southern by 23.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 1.9% during the first quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 1.4% during the first quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $90.97 on Monday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $77.62 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $99.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $89.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.90.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. KeyCorp downgraded Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five 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 $92.93.

Southern Company 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.