Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Sells 5,388 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,388 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in Southern by 10.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 148,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,069,000 after buying an additional 14,262 shares during the last quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 15.3% in the third quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $13,975,000. Arkos Global Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter. Arkos Global Advisors now owns 7,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 2,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,778,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $98.06 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $91.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.44. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 75.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.08.

Southern Company 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.