OneAscent Financial Services LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

OneAscent Financial Services LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 67.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,801 shares during the quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 1.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,904,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,725,187,000 after buying an additional 1,694,066 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,006,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,377,494,000 after acquiring an additional 241,572 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,179,715,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,768,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $621,567,000 after purchasing an additional 87,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Southern by 9,099.6% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,011,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373,271 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $86.93 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $88.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.06. The company has a market cap of $95.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 73.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Southern in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. BTIG Research began coverage on Southern in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.50 target price (up previously from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.21.

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.