Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Csenge Advisory Group

Csenge Advisory Group reduced its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,167 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group's holdings in Southern were worth $4,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Southern by 1.1% in the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 23.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 1.9% in the first quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Southern by 1.4% in the first quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock traded up $0.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $94.10. 4,197,840 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,747,839. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $94.63. The stock has a market cap of $103.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.46, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.38. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $90.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.55. 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 (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's payout ratio is 70.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on SO. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays upped their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.20.

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.