Energy Income Partners LLC Sells 73,483 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Energy Income Partners reduced its Southern Company stake by 4.1% in the first quarter, selling 73,483 shares and retaining 1.72 million shares valued at approximately $165.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 64.1% of Southern’s stock.
• Wall Street’s consensus rating is “Hold,” with seven Buy, eleven Hold, and two Sell ratings and an average price target of $100.21. Recent targets range from $79 to $105.
• Southern reported quarterly EPS of $1.32, beating expectations of $1.21, while revenue rose 8% year over year to $8.40 billion. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, representing a 3.2% annualized yield.

Energy Income Partners LLC lowered its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,716,842 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 73,483 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up about 2.7% of Energy Income Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Energy Income Partners LLC owned about 0.15% of Southern worth $165,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays cut their target price 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 reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $79.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.21.

Southern Stock Down 0.8%

Southern stock opened at $96.45 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $108.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.54, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.80.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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