Private Advisor Group LLC Sells 5,504 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Private Advisor Group LLC decreased its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,504 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $9,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Optas LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $258,000. Leonteq Securities AG raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth $20,042,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1,062.2% during the first quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 82,004 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,915,000 after purchasing an additional 74,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sharp Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $203,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $97.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $110.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $93.81 and its 200-day moving average is $92.79. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on SO. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $89.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.26.

Southern 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.