Financial Advocates Investment Management Decreases Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Financial Advocates Investment Management reduced its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,279 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Southern were worth $685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Southern by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 18,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,728,000 after buying an additional 2,043 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 13.7% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 22,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,066,000 after acquiring an additional 2,708 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 57.9% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 31,722 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,917,000 after acquiring an additional 11,631 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $945,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of Southern by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of SO stock opened at $90.32 on Thursday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $99.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $93.78 and a 200 day moving average of $92.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.50 price target (up previously from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Southern in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $97.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.03.

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.