Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Increases Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 121.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,767,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 969,493 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Southern were worth $154,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on SO. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.38.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $89.04 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.83. The stock has a market cap of $100.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.