Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 13.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 750,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 119,043 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $68,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 275.0% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $90.65 on Friday. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $94.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.50. The company has a market cap of $99.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 73.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays set a $70.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.56.

About Southern

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.