Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Resolution Capital Ltd

Key Points

• Resolution Capital Ltd. cut its Southern Company stake by 80.8% in the first quarter, selling 47,888 shares and retaining 11,400 shares valued at approximately $1.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 64.1% of the company.
• Southern reported quarterly earnings of $1.32 per share, exceeding estimates of $1.21, while revenue rose 8% year over year to $8.40 billion. Analysts expect full-year earnings of $4.58 per share.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, or $3.04 annually, representing a 3.1% yield. Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $100.21.

Resolution Capital Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 80.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 47,888 shares during the period. Resolution Capital Ltd's holdings in Southern were worth $1,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Southern by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in Southern by 0.7% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,438,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at $655,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Southern by 11.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,320,000 after buying an additional 46,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.7% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,268,000 after acquiring an additional 13,392 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $96.94 on Wednesday. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83. The stock's fifty day moving average is $94.54 and its 200-day moving average is $93.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $79.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $100.21.

Southern Profile

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern's principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.

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