Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Sells 194,488 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,151,486 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 194,488 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for about 1.2% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $109,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Southern by 320.3% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,179,425,000 after buying an additional 25,567,431 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,179,715,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 9,099.6% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,011,000 after acquiring an additional 4,373,271 shares in the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,904,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,725,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694,066 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of SO opened at $96.21 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The business has a fifty day moving average of $91.36 and a 200 day moving average of $91.51. The company has a market cap of $105.93 billion, a PE ratio of 24.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.44. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.08.

Southern Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.