Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Bell Bank

Key Points

• Bell Bank cut its Southern Company stake by 16.6% in the third quarter, selling 23,231 shares and retaining 116,905 shares valued at approximately $9.69 million. Institutional investors collectively own 64.1% of the company.
• Southern reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, beating estimates of $1.01, while revenue reached $6.98 billion. The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, equivalent to a 3.4% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $98.24, compared with the stock’s reported price of $90.72.

Bell Bank reduced its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 116,905 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 23,231 shares during the period. Bell Bank's holdings in Southern were worth $9,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Uptick Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the first quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 3.8% during the third quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its position in Southern by 2.4% during the first quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Southern by 0.3% during the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,313,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG lifted its holdings in Southern by 4.7% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $90.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $87.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.31. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $81.69 and a fifty-two week high of $99.58.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Southern from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.24.

Southern Profile

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an energy holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, the company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, while also providing natural gas distribution and related energy services.

Southern's electric utility operations include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers across Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. The company's generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources.

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