APG Asset Management N.V. Sells 18,182 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

APG Asset Management N.V. cut its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 1.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,150,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 18,182 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V.’s holdings in Southern were worth $109,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the third quarter worth $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Southern by 120.1% during the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SO. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $103.00 target price on Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.64.

Southern Trading Up 1.1%

SO opened at $97.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $107.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $89.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.35. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.65.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Southern Company Profile

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.