Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its Southern Company stake by 53% in the fourth quarter, raising its holdings to 35,537 shares valued at about $3.1 million.
• Southern reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.32 versus estimates of $1.21 and revenue of $8.40 billion versus $8.07 billion expected. Revenue also rose 8% from a year earlier.
• The utility boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.76 from $0.74, implying an annualized dividend of $3.04 and a yield of about 3.3%.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 53.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,537 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 12,317 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $3,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Howard Bailey Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $272,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 241,120 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $21,030,000 after purchasing an additional 7,450 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 2,401 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $479,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,876,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $92.93 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $94.13 and a 200 day moving average of $91.87. The company has a market capitalization of $104.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.34. 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 current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. 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 during 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%.Southern's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Seven equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $99.38.

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.

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