ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• ExodusPoint Capital Management bought a new stake in Southern Company in the fourth quarter, purchasing 576,900 shares worth about $50.3 million. The position represents roughly 0.4% of ExodusPoint’s portfolio.
• Southern insiders sold shares recently, including EVP Christopher Cummiskey and CEO Kimberly S. Greene, who together reduced their holdings by significant percentages. Corporate insiders now own just 0.16% of the stock.
• Southern reported solid quarterly results and raised its dividend, posting EPS of $1.32 versus estimates of $1.21 and increasing its quarterly payout to $0.76 per share. The stock’s current dividend yield is about 3.2%.

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 576,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $50,306,000. Southern accounts for about 0.4% of ExodusPoint Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.05% of Southern as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SO. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $99.38.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $94.27 on Wednesday. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $93.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.03. The firm has a market cap of $106.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.99, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. Southern's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

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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