SG Americas Securities LLC Cuts Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

SG Americas Securities LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 50.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 311,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 317,820 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $27,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Southern by 320.3% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,179,425,000 after buying an additional 25,567,431 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the second quarter worth about $1,179,715,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 83.8% in the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,266,000 after buying an additional 1,867,912 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 1,518.4% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,044,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,880,000 after acquiring an additional 979,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Southern by 790.6% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 811,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,542,000 after acquiring an additional 720,589 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on SO. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial set a $103.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Evercore upgraded shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.08.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $95.40 on Friday. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company’s 50-day moving average is $93.29 and its 200 day moving average is $91.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

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.