HB Wealth Management LLC Trims Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• HB Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Southern Company by 8.6%, selling 18,087 shares and leaving 192,433 shares valued at $16.78 million, while large institutions like Vanguard and Capital World Investors boosted positions and overall institutional ownership stands at 64.1%.
• Insider selling observed: CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares (a 19.44% reduction in her holdings) and EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares, leaving company insiders with just 0.16% ownership.
• Dividend raised amid mixed results: Southern increased its quarterly dividend to $0.76 (3.3% yield), reported Q EPS of $0.55 (missed by $0.01) with revenue up 10.1%, and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" with a $99.08 target.

HB Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 192,433 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 18,087 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $16,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,414,323 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,084,885,000 after purchasing an additional 510,080 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Southern by 320.3% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,179,425,000 after buying an additional 25,567,431 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Southern by 3.5% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,532,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $808,628,000 after buying an additional 285,546 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in Southern by 83.8% in the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $376,266,000 after buying an additional 1,867,912 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 1.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,904,697 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $275,277,000 after buying an additional 53,641 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $99.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $91.81 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market capitalization of $103.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's 50 day moving average is $95.78 and its 200 day moving average is $92.18. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Southern's payout ratio is 75.32%.

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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