Allworth Financial LP Buys 49,591 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Allworth Financial LP increased its Southern Company stake by 27.1% in Q4, buying 49,591 additional shares and bringing its total position to 232,637 shares valued at about $20.3 million.
• Southern reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.32 and revenue of $8.40 billion, both ahead of analyst estimates; revenue also rose 8% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share from $0.74, implying an annualized dividend of $3.04 and a yield of about 3.2%.

Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 27.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 232,637 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 49,591 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP's holdings in Southern were worth $20,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,422,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,090 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Southern by 320.3% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,179,425,000 after purchasing an additional 25,567,431 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Southern by 3.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,532,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $808,628,000 after purchasing an additional 285,546 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Southern by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,265,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $371,938,000 after purchasing an additional 255,230 shares during the period. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in Southern by 83.8% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $376,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,912 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $93.62 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $95.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.79. 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 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.36.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Southern's payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the sale, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.85.

About Southern

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.

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