Cape Investment Advisory Inc. Sells 21,680 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Cape Investment Advisory Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 90.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 21,680 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 320.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,179,425,000 after acquiring an additional 25,567,431 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,179,715,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 9,099.6% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,011,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373,271 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its position in Southern by 83.8% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,912 shares during the period. Finally, Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $103,342,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 1.7%

SO opened at $96.55 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $92.46 and a 200-day moving average of $91.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on SO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Evercore raised shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.08.

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.