Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 951 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $211,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 62.3% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 40,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,727,000 after buying an additional 15,584 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. grew its position in shares of Southern by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 71,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,605,000 after buying an additional 2,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its position in shares of Southern by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 9,654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $888,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 0.9%

Southern stock opened at $89.27 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.30. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $76.96 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $98.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. KeyCorp lowered Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.64.

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.