C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors Sells 9,376 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC significantly reduced its stake in Southern Company by 80.5%, selling 9,376 shares to end up with 2,267 shares valued at about $208,000.
• Southern Company reported quarterly earnings of $0.91 EPS, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.99, but revenue increased by 7.9% year-over-year to $6.97 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, with a yield of 3.2%, set to be paid to investors of record on August 18th.

C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors reduced its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 80.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,376 shares during the quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors' holdings in Southern were worth $208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $510,229,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Southern by 325.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,322,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $355,864,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,527 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 11,230.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,954,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $179,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,965 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,210,177 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,582,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419,724 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $428,794,000 after purchasing an additional 979,756 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.29.

Southern Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $94.25. The stock had a trading volume of 5,252,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,366,870. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $92.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.09. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44. The company has a market cap of $103.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

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.