Bank of New York Mellon Corp Lowers Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon reduced its Southern Company stake by 7.3% in the first quarter, selling 573,377 shares and ending with 7.28 million shares valued at about $702.5 million.
• Southern reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.32 beating estimates of $1.21 and revenue of $8.40 billion topping expectations, while revenue rose 8% year over year.
• The company also raised its dividend to $0.76 per quarter, or $3.04 annually, for a dividend yield of 3.2%; analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with a target price of $99.91.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,278,616 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 573,377 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.65% of Southern worth $702,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on SO shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $89.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $99.91.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $95.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $108.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.39. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern's payout ratio is 77.35%.

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.

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