Friedenthal Financial Makes New Investment in Southern Company (The) $SO

Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $973,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,127,000 after acquiring an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $655,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Southern by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,320,000 after purchasing an additional 46,504 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Southern by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,268,000 after purchasing an additional 13,392 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Truist Financial lowered 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, May 29th. Seaport Research Partners cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.26.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $95.77 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.23. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $107.96 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. 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. Southern’s dividend 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.