Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 19,641 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management reduced its Southern Company position by 4.1%, selling 19,641 shares and retaining 465,069 shares worth approximately $38.55 million. Institutional investors collectively own 64.1% of the utility company.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly neutral: Southern has a consensus “Hold” rating from 19 analysts, with an average price target of $98.24. JPMorgan, Truist and Morgan Stanley recently lowered their price targets.
• Southern reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, beating estimates of $1.01, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share. The annualized dividend of $3.04 represents a 3.3% yield.

Sterling Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 465,069 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 19,641 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for 0.8% of Sterling Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $38,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Bullseye Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Southern from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $98.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.24.

Southern Price Performance

SO traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $93.01. 5,097,680 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,454,843. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Southern Company has a one year low of $81.69 and a one year high of $99.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.98.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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