Southern Company (The) $SO Stock Sold by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Key Points

• Park Avenue Securities reduced its Southern Company holdings by 28.5% in the third quarter, selling 12,369 shares and retaining 31,019 shares valued at approximately $2.57 million. Institutional investors collectively own 64.1% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with eight Buy, nine Hold and two Sell ratings. Southern has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $98.24.
• Southern reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, exceeding estimates of $1.01, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share. The annualized dividend is $3.04, representing a 3.2% yield.

Park Avenue Securities LLC cut its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 28.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,019 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,369 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $2,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Uptick Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1.5% during 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 lifted its holdings in Southern by 3.8% in the third quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 2.4% in 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 during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 0.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 3.7% in the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,265 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their price target on Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $98.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.24.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $93.70 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $107.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.31. The company's 50 day moving average price is $87.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.35. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $81.69 and a 52 week high of $99.58.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The firm 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 business's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.90%.

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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