Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Purchased by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 779,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,686 shares during the period. Southern makes up 2.6% of Welch Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Welch Group LLC owned about 0.07% of Southern worth $67,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,414,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,084,885,000 after buying an additional 510,080 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Southern by 320.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,179,425,000 after buying an additional 25,567,431 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Southern by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,532,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,628,000 after buying an additional 285,546 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its stake in Southern by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,266,000 after buying an additional 1,867,912 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,904,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $275,277,000 after buying an additional 53,641 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $94.90 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $95.57 and its 200-day moving average is $92.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $100.83.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.69.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.