Claro Advisors LLC lessened its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO – Free Report) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,883 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 34.7% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.14.
Southern Price Performance
NYSE SO traded up $0.39 on Monday, hitting $81.71. The company had a trading volume of 2,246,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,594,222. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $85.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.13. The company has a market capitalization of $89.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52.
Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.
Southern Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Southern Company Profile
The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.
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