Lazard Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 99.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,472,020 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $877,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Uptick Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG increased its holdings in Southern by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. raised its position in Southern by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.26.

Southern Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $93.15 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.15. The company has a market capitalization of $107.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 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 the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio 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.