Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Sells 6,283 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 352,885 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,283 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $33,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,179,715,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $406,011,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373,271 shares in the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Southern by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,904,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,725,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694,066 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $97.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $91.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.47. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $107.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 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 (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 75.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SO. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays decreased their target price on Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.08.

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.