Arrow Capital Pty Ltd Lowers Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Arrow Capital Pty Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 22.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,358 shares during the period. Southern accounts for approximately 2.6% of Arrow Capital Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Arrow Capital Pty Ltd’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stamos Capital Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 22.2% during the second quarter. Stamos Capital Partners L.P. now owns 26,017 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 4,734 shares during the last quarter. BCS Private Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Southern during the second quarter valued at $278,000. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in Southern by 1,152.1% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 101,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,360,000 after acquiring an additional 93,783 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 6.0% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 166,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,305,000 after acquiring an additional 9,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at $1,053,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $85.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $94.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $92.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.43. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 15.42%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 73.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on SO. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Southern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.03.

Southern Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.