Southern Company (The) $SO Stock Position Cut by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,370,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 51,278 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises about 2.0% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $131,179,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on Southern in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.26.

Southern Trading Down 1.6%

Southern stock opened at $93.02 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $104.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The company’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.90%.

About Southern

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.