Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Purchased by Keel Point LLC

Keel Point LLC lifted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 115,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,797 shares during the quarter. Keel Point LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $10,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,090 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after purchasing an additional 7,593,224 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,381,344,000 after purchasing an additional 384,860 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $1,111,450,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 3.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 285,546 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.38.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $93.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $105.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $94.01 and a 200 day moving average of $91.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

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.