DDD Partners LLC Lowers Stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

DDD Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 251,582 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,447 shares during the period. Southern makes up 2.8% of DDD Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. DDD Partners LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $23,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,465,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management grew its stake in Southern by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC grew its stake in Southern by 23.0% in the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Southern stock traded up $0.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $93.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,362,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,721,879. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.43. The company has a market capitalization of $103.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $94.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.20.

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.