Wealth Alliance LLC Sells 1,856 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Wealth Alliance LLC trimmed its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 17.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,856 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its holdings in Southern by 275.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its stake in Southern by 1,428.6% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $0.15 during trading on Thursday, reaching $91.74. 203,300 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,182,884. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.15 and a 200-day moving average of $92.51. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is 73.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on SO. Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Barclays set a $70.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.56.

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.