Southern Company (The) $SO Stock: Quadrant Capital Group LLC Trims Stake

Quadrant Capital Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 43.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,413 shares during the quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Robbins Farley boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.6% during the third quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 42,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,537,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,330,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 7,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 25th. DA Davidson set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.50 price target on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.24.

Southern Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $93.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.87 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $87.63 and its 200 day moving average is $91.97. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $81.69 and a 1 year high of $99.58.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. 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 is presently 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.