Bleakley Financial Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 61.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,249 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 46,113 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $2,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 14.9% during the first quarter. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. now owns 319,826 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,408,000 after buying an additional 41,373 shares in the last quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the first quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 17,892 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,645,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. TFR Capital LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $612,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $105,000. Finally, Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $413,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $93.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,489,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,732,988. The business's 50-day moving average is $89.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.35. The company has a market capitalization of $102.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.86. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.20.

Southern 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.