abrdn plc Acquires 188,814 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

abrdn plc boosted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 72.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 448,924 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 188,814 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in Southern were worth $31,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 3.1% in the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southern by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 19,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its holdings in Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, CNB Bank increased its stake in shares of Southern by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. CNB Bank now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Trading Up 1.2 %

Southern stock opened at $72.99 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.18. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $75.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a market cap of $79.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The firm’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on SO. Barclays upped their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

About Southern

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.