MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC Sells 1,485 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,485 shares during the period. Southern accounts for 0.9% of MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its position in Southern by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 4,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 2,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.1% during the second quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 10,234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $940,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 3,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Barclays set a $70.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.56.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $90.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $99.64 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.50. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

About Southern

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.