Virtue Capital Management LLC Trims Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Virtue Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 18.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,109 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 901 shares during the quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 275.0% in the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its stake in Southern by 1,428.6% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $97.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Cowen started coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.03.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $90.78 on Friday. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $93.73 and its 200 day moving average is $92.42. The company has a market cap of $99.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

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.