Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC

Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 61.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,297 shares during the quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in Southern by 0.7% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $655,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Southern by 11.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,320,000 after buying an additional 46,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Southern by 2.7% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,268,000 after buying an additional 13,392 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $96.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.80. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $108.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.21.

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.