Prudential PLC Sells 643 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Prudential PLC reduced its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 643 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth $376,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in Southern by 3.2% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 127,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,702,000 after acquiring an additional 3,890 shares during the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 5,668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the period. Brookwood Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $286,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 99,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $89.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $98.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $97.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.03.

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.