Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. reduced its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,455 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,306 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $12,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,547 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 398,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,815,000 after acquiring an additional 15,923 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 164,768 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,785 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 16,464.2% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 31,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,632,000 after buying an additional 31,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in Southern by 129.9% in the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 18,042 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,485,000 after buying an additional 10,194 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $88.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $76.96 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The business's 50-day moving average price is $89.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.32. The firm has a market cap of $97.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on SO shares. Barclays increased their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $92.93.

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.

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