Atria Investments Inc Sells 10,994 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Atria Investments Inc cut its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,632 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,994 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $8,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.6% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,904,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,725,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694,066 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 241,572 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,179,715,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 87,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $406,011,000 after buying an additional 4,373,271 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE SO opened at $94.93 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $87.90 and its 200-day moving average is $91.38. 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 market capitalization of $104.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.45. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $100.83.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on SO. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.91.

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.