HighTower Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its Southern Company holdings by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, bringing its stake to 1,546,875 shares valued at about $134.9 million.
• Southern beat first-quarter earnings expectations, reporting $1.32 EPS versus the $1.21 consensus and revenue of $8.40 billion, up 8% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share from $0.74, implying an annualized yield of about 3.2%.

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,546,875 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,121 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.14% of Southern worth $134,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 60,430 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,269,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Tanglewood Legacy Advisors LLC raised its position in Southern by 195.5% in the 4th quarter. Tanglewood Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,501 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Stronghold Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $318,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 5,433 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. 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 company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.85.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $94.28 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.36. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $95.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.78. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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