GTS Securities LLC Sells 11,493 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

GTS Securities LLC decreased its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 80.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,493 shares during the quarter. GTS Securities LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 0.1%

Southern stock opened at $88.12 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.01 and a 200 day moving average of $94.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $101.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.09.

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.