Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Elevation Point Wealth Partners sharply increased its stake in Southern Company by 1,062.2% in the first quarter, ending with 82,004 shares valued at about $7.9 million.
• Southern’s stock was trading up 2.9% at $97.84, near its 52-week high, with the company carrying a market cap of $110.3 billion and a dividend yield of 3.1%.
• The utility beat quarterly expectations, posting $1.32 EPS on $8.40 billion in revenue, and it recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share from $0.74.

Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 1,062.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,004 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 74,948 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $7,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Stokes Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. raised its position in Southern by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Tradewinds LLC. lifted its position in Southern by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 11,528 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,005,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC now owns 45,038 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,927,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $97.84 on Friday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $110.30 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.71. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore raised Southern from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $89.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Seven research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $99.26.

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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