AlphaQuest LLC Grows Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Southern Company by 153.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 35,023 shares valued at about $3.05 million.
• Southern reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.32 versus consensus estimates of $1.21 and revenue of $8.40 billion, up 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%.

AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 153.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,023 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 21,204 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $3,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SO. Empowered Funds LLC increased 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 valued at $3,127,000 after acquiring an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter worth about $655,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 11.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,320,000 after buying an additional 46,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 2.7% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,268,000 after buying an additional 13,392 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 30,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $103.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $99.56.

Southern Stock Up 0.1%

SO opened at $94.67 on Tuesday. 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. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $95.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.36.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Southern 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.