27,373 Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Acquired by Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.

Key Points

• Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory increased its Southern Company stake by 49%, acquiring 27,373 shares in the third quarter and bringing its holdings to 83,204 shares, valued at about $6.9 million.
• Southern reported quarterly EPS of $1.94, beating the $1.71 consensus, while revenue of $8.84 billion also exceeded expectations and rose 13% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was Hold, with an average price target of $97.32. Southern also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, equivalent to a 3.3% annualized yield.

Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 49.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,204 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 27,373 shares during the quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $6,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Capital Management of KS Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. now owns 6,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 28.9% in the third quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 2,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 19.9% in the third quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 27,656 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,292,000 after buying an additional 4,595 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.9% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 241,241 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,996,000 after buying an additional 4,421 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 374,989 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,300,000 after buying an additional 2,180 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on SO. Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Southern and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. DA Davidson set a $98.00 target price on Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Capital One Financial set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.32.

Southern Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:SO opened at $93.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $107.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.30. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $81.69 and a twelve month high of $99.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $88.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $8.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.38 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The firm's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling Spainhour, Jr. sold 3,333 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.81, for a total value of $306,002.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,927,453.66. The trade was a 9.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Profile

Southern Company is an energy holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service, primarily across the southeastern United States.

Its electric utility businesses include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers in their respective states. Southern Company also owns Southern Power, which develops and operates wholesale power generation assets, and Southern Company Gas, whose businesses distribute natural gas to customers in several states.

Formed in 1945, Southern Company has grown from a regional electric utility holding company into a diversified energy provider.

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