Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Cuts Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management trimmed its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 50.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,526 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Southern were worth $610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Spirepoint Private Client LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,513,000 after purchasing an additional 11,460 shares during the period. Marble Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $4,443,000. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its stake in shares of Southern by 243.3% during the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 20,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 14,753 shares during the period. Bell Bank grew its position in Southern by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Bell Bank now owns 127,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,153,000 after buying an additional 21,751 shares during the period. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $2,462,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $95.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.40. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.91.

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.