Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Energy Income Partners LLC

Energy Income Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,716,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 73,483 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises about 2.7% of Energy Income Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Energy Income Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $165,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,422,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,090 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after purchasing an additional 7,593,224 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,004,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,436,212 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,381,344,000 after purchasing an additional 384,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,111,450,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:SO opened at $96.45 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS 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 company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.21.

Southern Company 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.