Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by New Age Alpha Advisors LLC

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Southern Company by 53.3%, now owning holdings worth approximately $1.37 million after selling 17,053 shares.
• Southern Company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99, despite a revenue increase of 7.9% year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, representing a 3.1% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 76.09%.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 53.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 17,053 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $1,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investors Research Corp boosted its position in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Elequin Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Southern by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.29.

Southern Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $94.75. The company had a trading volume of 4,148,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,395,827. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $91.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.36, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Southern's payout ratio is 76.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Company 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.