GTS Securities LLC Sells 11,493 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• GTS Securities cut its Southern Company stake by 80.3% in the second quarter, selling 11,493 shares and retaining 2,828 shares worth approximately $271,000.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with seven Buy, eleven Hold, and two Sell ratings; the consensus is Hold with a $100.09 target price.
• Southern reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, beating estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, representing a 3.4% annualized yield.

GTS Securities LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 80.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,828 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,493 shares during the quarter. GTS Securities LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $79.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $100.09.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $88.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.40. 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 Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $101.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern's payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

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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