Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. Sells 5,658 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. decreased its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 38.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,658 shares during the period. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investors Research Corp lifted its stake in Southern by 400.0% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth $39,000. Elequin Capital LP lifted its stake in Southern by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on SO. Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.20.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $94.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 409,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,717,998. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $89.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $103.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

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.