Southern Company (The) $SO Stake Lowered by Quadrant Capital Group LLC

Quadrant Capital Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 43.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,413 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Uptick Partners LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 1.5% in the first quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $734,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $475,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,313,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG raised its position in shares of Southern by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SO. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Southern from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Southern from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.24.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $93.77 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $87.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.97. The firm has a market cap of $107.87 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.31. 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 Company has a 1-year low of $81.69 and a 1-year high of $99.58.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.90%.

Southern Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an energy holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, the company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, while also providing natural gas distribution and related energy services.

Southern’s electric utility operations include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers across Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. The company’s generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources.