Confluence Investment Management LLC Has $131.18 Million Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Confluence Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,370,593 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 51,278 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises approximately 2.0% of Confluence Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Southern worth $131,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Uptick Partners LLC raised its position in Southern by 1.5% during the first quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,313,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $93.02 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $94.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.09. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $104.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SO. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $79.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $100.26.

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.

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