Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. Buys Shares of 16,330 Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Elevate Wealth Advisory bought a new stake of 16,330 shares of Southern (~$1.424M) in Q4, making SO 1.0% of its portfolio and its 24th-largest position.
• Southern reported Q4 EPS of $0.55 (missed by $0.01) and revenue of $6.98B (beat estimates; +10.1% YoY), and it pays a quarterly dividend of $0.74 (annualized $2.96) for a ~3.1% yield with a 75.3% payout ratio.
• Company insiders, including the EVP and CEO, recently sold shares (reducing their stakes by ~18–19%), institutional investors hold ~64.1% of SO, and analysts have a consensus "Hold" with an average target of $98.69.

Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 16,330 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,424,000. Southern accounts for 1.0% of Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 34,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,497 shares in the last quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $242,000. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 21,469 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,872,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 155,839 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,589,000 after acquiring an additional 2,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 53,105 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,631,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.1%

Southern stock opened at $94.56 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $106.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.41. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $95.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.20.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The business's revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $103.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.

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