Southern Company (The) $SO Stock Position Lessened by Brookstone Capital Management

Key Points

• Brookstone Capital Management cut its Southern Company stake by 6.8% in the third quarter, selling 12,013 shares and retaining 164,888 shares valued at approximately $13.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 64.1% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $98.24. Recent firms lowered their targets, although Citigroup maintained a “Buy” rating and BMO Capital Markets reiterated “Outperform.”
• Southern reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, exceeding estimates of $1.01, while revenue reached $6.98 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, equivalent to a 3.3% annualized yield.

Brookstone Capital Management reduced its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 6.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,888 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,013 shares during the quarter. Brookstone Capital Management's holdings in Southern were worth $13,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. NBT Bank N.A. bought a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,513,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Southern by 16.0% during the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 122,738 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,957,000 after purchasing an additional 16,920 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 4.2% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 315,333 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,138,000 after purchasing an additional 12,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sawyer & Company Inc bought a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.24.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $93.01 on Friday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $81.69 and a 12-month high of $99.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.98. The company has a market cap of $107.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. Research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Southern's payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

Southern Company 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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