Dakota Wealth Management Trims Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Dakota Wealth Management cut its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 93.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 105,154 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Southern were worth $637,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $96.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.44. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $93.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.87.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on SO. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern 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.