Core Alternative Capital Sells 18,090 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Core Alternative Capital decreased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 17.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 88,214 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 18,090 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up 1.9% of Core Alternative Capital's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Core Alternative Capital's holdings in Southern were worth $8,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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 valued at $1,465,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.1% in the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $922,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 23.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 1.9% in the first quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Syverson Strege & Co raised its stake in shares of Southern by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.93.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock traded down $0.18 on Friday, hitting $90.97. 3,467,244 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,679,052. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $89.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.86. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $77.62 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $99.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 70.64%.

Southern 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.