RFG Advisory LLC Has $10.31 Million Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• RFG Advisory LLC trimmed its Southern Company stake by 9.7% in the first quarter, selling 11,515 shares and leaving it with 106,868 shares valued at about $10.3 million.
• Southern posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, reporting EPS of $1.32 versus the $1.21 estimate and revenue of $8.40 billion, up 8% from a year ago.
• The company raised its dividend to $0.76 per quarter from $0.74, implying a $3.04 annualized payout and a 3.2% yield; meanwhile, analysts’ consensus remains a “Hold” with an average target price of $99.26.

RFG Advisory LLC lowered its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 9.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 106,868 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,515 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $10,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Southern by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,422,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,090 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after purchasing an additional 7,593,224 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,004,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,436,212 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,381,344,000 after purchasing an additional 384,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $1,111,450,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Up 0.9%

Southern stock opened at $95.77 on Thursday. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.96 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $93.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.23.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $89.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen upped their price target on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Evercore raised Southern from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a report on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $99.26.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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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